Kiss The Rain
by Lady Kogawolf
Summary: She learns the truth about a cold blooded killer, and finds that sometimes, things are not always as they seem. *This fic does contain spoilers. This warning will serve through this entire fic.*
1. Once Upon A Time

A/N: Here is my newest fic, and I hope that you enjoy it. This is a strictly Itachi/Sakura pairing. Thanks for reading, and please review.

I do not own anything. It's true. Naruto and his pals belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I am only using them for my sick and twisted pleasure.

* * *

_He stared at the lifeless bodies for several moments, but then lifted his eyes to the man before him._

"_Why?" He demanded, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. "Why did you kill them?"_

_The man's face was void of emotion and he simply shrugged. "They were the worst of this clan." He said, his tone lazy. "They were useless to me."_

"_Useless?" The younger man cried. "They were family!"_

"_Family," The man scoffed. "Is nothing more than an idealistic notion that people use to tell others that they belong to someone. It is a ridiculous weakness that I have culled in order to make this clan great, once more."_

_The younger man's face paled. He watched as the older man stepped forward and then stopped a few feet away from him, his eyes thoughtful._

"_Will you be the one to bring our clan back to its original glory?" He wondered, his head cocking to the side. "Or will it be the other boy, the one with hope in his eyes."_

"_You won't touch him." The younger man snapped, his hand reaching behind him to grasp the sword that rested upon his back. "I'll make sure of it."_

_The older man laughed, but then shook his head. "Do your worst, boy." He said. "It won't be enough. It will never be enough. Tell me, how will you explain this mess to him? If he is anything like you, he'll come after me, and when he does, I'll be the judge of his strength, myself."_

_For the first time in his life, the younger man felt lost. He was about to speak once again, but a child's voice hit his ears, and froze him in his tracks._

"_Mom? Dad? Are you here?" _

_The older man walked over to the window and before he left the room, he looked over his shoulder and grinned._

"_It begins."_

_The younger man rushed to the window, and watched as the man disappeared into the night. He heard the small footsteps, and realized that the boy was heading for the very room that he was in. _

_He made his way over to the bodies of those he had loved, and as the door finally began to slide open, his last thought was, 'Damn you.'_

* * *

Sakura awoke with a start and looked around her room with wild eyes. The dream had been so vivid, and she could not help but wonder why she was the one who was experiencing these strange dreams.

Of course, she could ask the young man from her dreams, but she didn't know where he was, or if he'd even cross her path, again.

All she knew was that the last time they had met, it had been while she and her team were on a mission, and it had been by pure bad luck that they had crossed paths with the infamous Itachi and Kisame.

The fight had been long, and hard. She had come very close to landing a punch on the Uchiha killer, but at the final moment, right before her fist struck, he had caught her, and introduced her to his mangekyo sharingan.

However, something had gone wrong. Instead of seeing her loved ones suffering, she saw his. She had seen that night, the same night that had haunted Sasuke for so long, and realized that it had haunted the man before her, too.

She didn't know what she had whispered, but suddenly, she was no longer in that hellish world, and was sitting on the ground, staring at his back as he walked away from her. She could see her friends rushing towards her, with Naruto leading them, but all she could do was stare at Itachi's back.

Now, as she sat in her bed, she tried to think about what she had said to cause him to release her, but she just could not remember. All she knew was that he had not killed his clan. At least, she didn't think so.

What she saw when she had been trapped by his sharingan had been real, she was almost sure of it. The pain and horror she had felt coming from him, and then the sadness that radiated from him as he told his little brother that he had been the one to kill their clan.

Itachi, on that night, had given his little brother a purpose and had even told him the way to gain their family's greatest weapon, while installing a hatred that would carry on in the younger Uchiha for years. It was that same hatred that had caused Sasuke to abandon the village for Orochimaru.

It was on that night, so long ago, that Uchiha Itachi died.

Sasuke would never learn from Itachi who had really killed their family. Even then, Itachi knew that Sasuke would never be strong enough to defeat the man unless he had a purpose, and Itachi, himself, would make sure that Sasuke was pushed to his limits, proving what he was willing to go through in order to avenge those that both men had loved.

Sakura's eyes turned towards the window and she felt tears stream down her cheeks. She could not help but grieve for the man, who had lost everything, just to ensure his little brother's safety. As she stared at the moon, she could not help but wonder where Itachi was, at that moment.

* * *

Itachi's eyes never left the moon, as his partner settled down next to him. The larger man glanced down at his companion, but then grumbled.

"How in the hell are we going to explain this one to the leader?" He demanded, his tone gruff.

Itachi simply shrugged. "Tell him whatever you wish." He said, clearly unconcerned with what their leader thought. "We tried, and were unsuccessful. I'm sure that when we return to face the leader, he will believe us, seeing as how we do not have the kyuubi with us."

Kisame grunted but then asked, "What happened with the little girl? Don't tell me that she broke out of your hold?"

Itachi's eyes finally moved towards his partner, and he shook his head. "I pulled her out." He said.

"Why?" The shark ninja demanded, his eyes narrowed.

"Something went wrong." Itachi said, his eyes once more upon the moon. "It wasn't working on her and she nearly freed herself, anyways."

Kisame's mouth dropped open as he watched his partner. Finally, he said, "I never thought that I'd see the day when the great Uchiha Itachi's mangekyo sharingan would be useless, and it was against a girl, too."

Itachi didn't reply, nor did he move when his partner grumbled that he was going to bed. Instead, his thoughts were upon the pink haired girl, and the one word that had made him freeze.

"_Madara._"

He had not heard that name in so long, and to hear it, coming from a girl he had vaguely remembered from his days when he had lived in Konoha, it unnerved him.

The name had fallen from her lips, and even though it had been only a whisper, he had heard it clearly. That name made his stomach churn, and he could feel the tendrils of rage festering inside of him.

For the first time in a long time, he felt something.

And, it was all that girl's doing.

It was all Haruno Sakura's fault.


	2. A Brother's Choice

A/N: Thanks for all of the great reviews, guys. I'm really glad that you are enjoying this fic, and I do have to warn you. This fic does contain some spoilers. Hell, during my reasearch for part of this fic, I was surprised, too. Anyways, please continue to read and review.

Edited 10/6/2008--thanks to Poket. I made the change. I appreciate the good eyes and for keeping me straight.

* * *

Sakura wandered through the village, and despite the sunny weather, and the laughter of the villagers around her, she simply didn't have it within her to feel cheerful.

Of course, if she had been able to go back to sleep the previous night, things might have been better, but when she tried to close her eyes and fall back asleep, all she could see was the face of a man who clearly loved his little brother, and all she could hear were those false words falling from his lips, in order to protect the only family he had left.

She looked up to see the hokage tower looming over the village, and then sighed. Perhaps she could ask her sensei about the mangekyo, and figure out exactly had happened to make Itachi release her.

When she finally stood in front of her beloved sensei, the woman looked almost as haggard as she did, except Tsunade's appearance was more than likely the result of a night of drinking sake.

Once the hokage had swallowed the aspirin that Shizune had brought, she looked at Sakura and bluntly said, "You look like hell."

"Thank you." Sakura replied, too tired to come up with a comeback. "I have a question, and I am hoping that you can answer it."

Once her sensei nodded, Sakura asked, "What do you know about the mangekyo sharingan?"

The blond sannin nearly spit her water out and onto her desk, but managed to swallow and asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"When we met up with Itachi, he used it on me, but ended up breaking his hold." Sakura explained, her eyes straying down to the desk. "I just want to know more about it, just in case he and I meet up again."

Tsunade studied her young apprentice carefully, but then sighed. "To be honest, I don't really have a clue as to how it works." She said, shrugging. "There are theories about it, but so far, there have only been two people who have gained that ability. Itachi is one of them."

"Who was the other?" Sakura asked, her green eyes now trained on her mentor.

Tsunade sat back in her chair and allow her lips to form into a very thin line. "The other was a man whom my grandfather fought in a bid to lead this village. It was out of that battle that my grandfather became the first hokage." She said, proudly.

Sakura's eyes traveled over to the five framed picture of the hokages and she smiled at the handsome picture of the first.

"Sakura, let's be honest, hm?" Tsunade said, leaning forward. "Why the sudden interest? Everyone knows that the mangekyo sharingan is a terrifying weapon, and neither of the masters of that technique have any qualms about using it for their own advantage. Of course, the first man is long dead, but know this, if you cross paths with Itachi again, I seriously doubt that he would release you a second time."

Sakura's cheeks tinted with a soft pink, and when a hand fell onto her shoulder, she jumped.

"But, if you are really that interested in the sharingan, then I would suggest that you speak with Kakashi about it." Tsunade murmured, thoughtfully. "He might be able to tell you more about it, seeing as he is a sharingan wielder, as well."

Sakura nodded, and stood up. She walked to the door, but then stopped. Turning, she looked at her sensei and softly asked, "I know that it is asking a lot, but is there any way that I may see Itachi's file?"

Tsunade's eyebrows lifted and she crossed her arms over her busty chest. "Sakura, you know that those files are restricted." She explained. But, then a naughty smirked formed on her lips and she leaned towards her student. "However, the file might be on my desk around six o'clock, and since you have just kindly volunteered to finish up the files for the upcoming chunnin exam, you might run across it. Just don't tell Shizune that I've decided to take the night off. Deal?"

Sakura gave her sensei a large grin, and nodded. Despite everything, her sensei was one of a kind. Thankfully, that kind seemed to be lazy and alcoholic.

She left the office and decided to go and look for Kakashi. Perhaps he could shed some light on the mangekyo sharingan.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke fell to the ground, both trying desperately to catch their breaths. Sai stood a few feet away, looking bored. When he finally caught his breath, Naruto snapped, "Is this what we are going to do for the entire time? I thought that we were supposed to be training."

"But, this is training, Naruto." Kakashi said, his eyes never leaving the page of his book. "This of this as an exercise in endurance."

"Endurance, my ass." Naruto snapped, and stood up. "If you wanted to read, instead of train, you should have said so."

The older ninja's eyes turned towards the blonde, but then darted across the field, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw Sakura running towards them. Maybe Naruto's attention would be directed over to his friend, and he could read in peace.

When she slid to a stop before the four men, she gave them a smile and said, "Hi."

Naruto gave her his biggest grin. Sasuke simply gave her a nod, and then turned his eyes towards the woods. Sai gave her one of his creepy stares, but then broke out into a smile that totally freaked her out. Kakashi gave her an eye crinkle, and then said, "Well, now that Sakura is here, it's time to spar."

Before anyone could say a word, Sasuke and Naruto both jumped up and pointed at each other. "You're mine!" Both men snapped, and glared at each other in a silent challenge.

Sakura sighed, but then allowed her eyes to rest on her former sensei. She glanced over at Sai, but found the artist watching the other two men, and she moved over to sit next to the older man.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, her bright green eyes staring up at him. Kakashi sighed and put his book down. Was it asking too much to be allowed to read in peace?

"Sakura, how many times do I have to tell you that I am no longer your sensei. You may call me 'Kakashi.'" He said, and then reached over to ruffle her hair.

Taking in a deep breath, and pushing back all of the urges to shove his hand off of her head, she softly asked, "What do you know about the mangekyo sharingan?"

Suddenly, the entire field went quiet, and Sakura was stunned to find Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai staring at her, along with Kakashi. She fidgeted for a few moments, uncomfortable with their attention, but then turned her eyes towards Kakashi.

The older ninja simply didn't know what to say. Sure, he knew that the mangekyo sharingan was a mentally debilitating weapon, and he knew that fact, first hand. After all, he had been a victim of Uchiha Itachi's sharingan, once before.

He cleared his throat and put his book away. "Sakura, I don't think that you should dwell upon the sharingan too much." He murmured. "All you need to know about the mangekyo is that it is a weapon that messes with the mind. I'm just surprised that you managed to break his hold over you, and you should consider yourself lucky that it has not scarred you."

Sakura mumbled something, and despite his good hearing, he didn't catch her words. He watched as the other three men moved closer, and saw that Sasuke was now wearing a scowl on his face. It was clear that despite everything, he was also curious as to how Sakura managed to fight off the mangekyo.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." He said, his eye never leaving her face. "I'm afraid that I didn't catch what you said."

Sakura bit her lip and then took in a deep breath. "I said, that I didn't break free of it." She repeated. "He let me go."

She could see the stunned looks upon Naruto and Sasuke's faces, while Sai seemed to be deep in thought. Kakashi, however, narrowed his eyes at the young woman.

"What do you mean 'he let you go'?" Kakashi demanded, his tone serious. "Sakura, Itachi doesn't let people go from his mangekyo. I can tell you that he would not have used the technique on you if he was just going to let you go only seconds after he performed it."

Sakura's eyes fell to the grass beside her and she shrugged one bare shoulder. "All I know is that he didn't hurt me, and when he let me go, he walked away calmly and called for his partner." She explained, her tone quiet.

"What did you see when he placed you in the mangekyo?" Sasuke asked, his face hard. "Don't lie to us, Sakura, and say that you didn't see anything. I saw his face, and whatever it is that you did, he was shocked. Now, what did you see?"

Sakura bit her lip. How could she tell him that what she had seen, was different from what he had grown up believing? How could she explain to him that from what she had witnessed, Itachi had been set up and forced to leave his younger brother? How could she tell Sasuke that his defection from their village had been in vain, and that his brother was not the monster that he thought.

Lifting her fingers to her temples, she sighed and quietly said, "All I saw was red, and I heard some voices, but I wasn't in long enough to really understand what they were saying."

Kakashi frowned. Something was not adding up, but from the look on her face, she was telling the truth, but he could not help but wonder if she were omitting something. He looked up and saw that Sasuke's hands were now clenched tightly into fists. Clearly, he wasn't satisfied with Sakura's answer, and he wanted more.

"That's it?" Sasuke demanded, angrily. "That's all you saw?"

"Knock it off, bastard." Naruto snapped, as he moved to kneel beside Sakura. "She doesn't need to hear this now."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, and ran his fingers through his hair. He paced back and forth for several minutes and then glared down at Sakura. He gave a frustrated grunt and then snapped, "He probably realized that she was a waste of his time and got bored."

Naruto was about to stand up and defend her honor, but Sakura stopped him, and shook her head. "It's alright." She said, staring at Sasuke. His scowl deepened and he snapped, "What?" He could see that she wasn't angry over his statement, and that bothered him.

"It's nothing." Sakura murmured, and stood up. She watched as both Naruto and Kakashi stood, as well, and then said, "Well, I've got to go home and get ready for tonight. I'm helping Tsunade-sensei, and I can't be late."

She gave a weak wave to the men and then disappeared in a flurry of sakura petals, leaving three bewildered men and one fuming man, behind. Once she was gone, Naruto's smile left his lips and he rounded on Sasuke.

"Ok, asshole." He demanded, angrily. "What in the hell was all that about?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He knew that his brother was vicious, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why Itachi would have simply released Sakura from his hold. Why would that murdering bastard allow her to simply walk away without torturing her in that hellish world?

He turned his back on his oldest friend and began to walk away, his mind simply refusing to allow him to accept that Itachi would have shown mercy to Sakura, when he brutally thrust his own brother into the memories of that night, so long ago.

Why would Itachi simply walk away, when he could have destroyed Sakura so easily?

* * *

He should have just killed her, and put her out of her misery. He knew that he had made a serious mistake by letting her live, and now, he was sure that he was going to pay for it. However, as much as he wanted to continue to berate himself for his carelessness, he had other matters to deal with.

"And, that is what happened." Kisame said, his head bowed as he gave their report to their leader. When he was finished, he stood up to his full height, and stepped backwards, until he stood beside Itachi, once more.

Together, they waited for their leader's decision.

The man before them glared at them, and then shook his head. "And, what about the girl? What happened to her?" He asked, his tone deceptively calm.

"She has returned to Konoha, and has probably told her superiors of our encounter." Itachi replied, his own tone calm.

"I see." The leader known as Pein, said. He leaned back in his chair and thought for several moments, before allowing his gaze to wander over the other Akatsuki members that were in attendance. "So, now we know that there is, at least, one individual who can break the mangekyo sharingan's hold. Tell me, Itachi. Doesn't it bother you that this girl was able to break free from your beloved technique? After all, you did sacrifice so much for it, didn't you?"

Itachi did not reply. It was true that he had sacrificed, but not in the way that people thought. His sacrifice cost him more than he had ever imagined it would. It was a price that he was still paying.

Pein smirked and then nodded. "I will make my final decision, concerning the two of you and your failure, after I have had some time to think about these recent events." He said, his tone leaving no room for arguments. "Leave me."

The room emptied quickly and grew quiet, and he waited for several minutes before asking, "Is it really possible? Did this girl truly break free of the mangekyo sharingan?"

"I do not know." Came the soft reply. Pein's eyes moved over to the wall, where he knew the man was standing. "It would seem that Konoha are turning out some very strong ninja. I am curious as to see this girl, for myself. I wonder what she saw and why Itachi was not able to keep her contained. It is very curious."

Pein nodded and stood up. He watched as the figure on the wall began to blend in with the shadows and bowed when the man said, "Bring her to us. Let us see for ourselves just how powerful she really is. If it turns out that she can defeat the mangekyo, then perhaps we need to think about eliminating her before she can teach others how to break free."

"What of Itachi and Kisame?" Pein asked, his eyes narrowing. "They did fail, after all."

The man chuckled. "I leave them to your discretion." He replied, and then faded into the shadows, leaving Pein behind, smiling.

Turning on his heel, he walked to the door and left the room, intent on explaining to both Kisame and Itachi that failure was not an option, especially in the Akatsuki.

* * *

Sakura blinked and shook her head, as sleep attempted to overcome her. However, now that all of the files were completed for the upcoming exam, she could turn her attention to Itachi's file.

It amazed her at just how thick his file was. The man was nothing short of a legend, and from what his records from his days at the academy stated, she seriously doubted that there was anyone alive who could actually surpass him, mentally.

His files stated that he was a genius, and that his time as a chunnin was short because the village elders felt that Itachi would be of more use to them as a member of ANBU. Thus, began his career in the dark world of assassinations and intelligence.

He excelled in ANBU, quickly making captain at the age of thirteen. From what she read from his superiors, he was a model soldier, and he was committed to serving Konoha.

However, she froze when she saw a charge of murder against him. From what she read, a cousin of Itachi and Sasuke's, Uchiha Shisui, was found floating in the river, dead. Three members of the Uchiha police force went to Itachi and basically accused Itachi of murdering his friend and cousin.

Of course, Itachi denied the charge, but then attacked the three men, only stopping when his younger brother called out to him, and it was then that he fell to his knees, and begged the men to forgive him for his attack.

However, he maintained his innocence, and the charge was dropped for lack of evidence. The investigator clearly believed that Itachi had something to do with his cousin's death, but he made the note that despite the charges being dropped, he still felt that Itachi had murdered the young man.

Sakura's eyes widened when she saw that the investigator was none other than Hatake Kakashi. While it didn't surprise her that Kakashi had been in ANBU, she was shocked to learn that he had been one of their investigators.

Shaking her head, she continued to read, and nearly gasped at what she found. Within his file, was an account of the Uchiha clan massacre. She read the statement that Sasuke had given, and even though he had been a little boy, his recount of the encounter with his brother had been very detailed.

Even at that age, Sasuke was blunt and to the point.

What the report didn't state was Itachi's appearance. When she had seen him, in that nightmare world, his clothing and sword were clean. There was no blood upon him. If he had committed the crimes, then he would have been covered in blood.

However, she could also remember that she had seen a small glimpse of the other man, who had been in the room with Itachi, and unlike Itachi, he was covered in blood.

Now she knew. Uchiha Itachi had been set up, and whomever that man was, he did one hell of a job.

She slowly closed the file and stood up. Moving over to the window, she stared out into the night and then felt hot tears sliding down her cheeks.

Why was this happening to her? Why had he shown her that sad night? Was it to torment her, knowing that she cared deeply for his younger brother? Or, was it his way of reaching out, asking for help?

She didn't know what to do. If she went to Sasuke, he would probably hate her for the rest of her life because he would see it as her defending Itachi.

She could not go to Kakashi, simply because he still held a grudge towards the elder Uchiha for his own imprisonment within the mangekyo.

She wouldn't go to Naruto, mainly because he knew the pain that Sasuke felt, and despite them being rivals, he would be in total support of Sasuke, and would probably chew her out for stirring up trouble.

As for Sai, well, she wasn't even going to go there.

Frowning, she turned her eyes back to the file and stared at the picture that adorned the front of the file. She would admit it. Uchiha Itachi was handsome. No, Sasuke was handsome. Itachi was beyond handsome.

Carefully, she lifted the file and stared at the picture.

"Why can't I get you out of my mind? Why do you and your sad eyes haunt me?" She whispered, her fingertips running over the black and white photo.

She placed the file back on the desk and moved towards the door and turned out the light. Glancing back over her shoulder, she softly said, "Good night, Itachi."

* * *

Itachi's eyes opened and he glanced over at his partner, who was still quite pale. It was odd to see the blue-skinned man so shaken, but after what their leader had said to them, he supposed that anyone would be scared.

He, on the other hand, simply didn't care. Dying by his leader's hand, or his little brother's hand, it didn't matter. All he knew was that once he died, the emptiness that filled him would be gone, and he could finally rest.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Kisame asked, his tone sharp. "I am not going through anything like this again, so we had better not fuck up."

Itachi inclined his head, and then looked up at the sky. "The girl will come to us." He said, his tone calm.

Snorting, Kisame turned his head and stared at his partner, skeptically. "Really? And, what makes you say that?" He asked, curious.

Itachi closed his eyes and said, "She now has a reason to seek me out. All we need to do is be ready when she finally comes looking for me."

The shark ninja lifted his brow, but didn't say a word. He turned and quickly grabbed up his pack, and then grabbed up his cloak. His quiet partner mirrored his actions and together, they faded into the night.

The only thing that they left behind was the sound of tinkling bells.

* * *

"_It's just the two of us." Itachi said, his eyes lighting up in a smile, as he gazed down at his younger brother. "I'll always be here, like a wall you need to climb over. Even if it means being hated...that's what big brothers are for."_

_Sasuke stared up at his older brother for a moment, but then grinned._

_The endearing scene faded, and another image appeared. Sasuke stood and watched as his father and brother drew closer to each other. And, as he watched, both men passed by the other, neither speaking a word, ignoring each other._

_It confused Sasuke, but when he saw his father looking down at him, he smiled shyly and said, "Good morning, father."_

_Neither Sasuke or their father knew it, but when the elder Uchiha showed Sasuke the hand signals for the fireball jutsu, he had been watching them. Finally, their father's focus was on Sasuke, as it should be._

_However, he saw their father shake his head in disappointment when the fireball that Sasuke produced was less than acceptable. But, Sasuke was determined to show their father that he was just as good as his older brother, and it was with great pride when he watched Sasuke, once again, stand before their father and this time, his fireball rivaled those that he, Itachi, could produce._

_He watched as his father turned, and could see Sasuke hang his head, clearly thinking that he had done something wrong. But, the small boy's head snapped up when he heard his father's words._

"_That's my boy."_

_A small smile crossed his lips as his younger brother's face lit up, but his smile faded a bit when he heard his father's warning to Sasuke._

"_Don't follow your brother, anymore." Their father said, his tone serious. _

_Suddenly, he realized that what his father said, held merit. He knew that with everything that had happened with Shisui, the same could happen to Sasuke. He couldn't go to his father and tell him what he suspected, nor could he explain the events surrounding Shisui's death. _

_While he had not committed the act against his friend that had put Shisui at death's door, he had been the one to push him through it, though it was at Shisui's insistence._

"_Gain the weapon, Itachi." Shisui had said, his voice weak. "Do it now before you loose your chance. Stop him, before it's too late."_

_But, by the time he had formed a plan in his mind as to bring the man down, it was too late._

_He was too late._

Sakura's eyes opened and she bolted up, and hit her head against the wall she had been sitting against. She looked around wildly, and then slumped against the wall, her body shaking as she tried to push the images out of her head.

However, she simply could not make the words disappear. Instead, they echoed in her mind, and she sighed as her eyes turned towards the window.

For what had to be the hundredth time, she wondered, _'Why me?'_


	3. A Light In The Darkness

A/N: I had to take some time off. But, I'm back with a new chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!!! Please read and review.

* * *

For nearly a month, the village of Konoha was quiet. Sakura could not help but feel a tiny bit relieved that she had some extra time to rest and relax, especially since her dreams had become so disturbing. 

After reading Itachi's file, Sakura came to the conclusion that she would simply walk away and forget about what she had seen. After all, it really wasn't any of her business, and she knew that if she didn't let it go, that her thoughts would wind up driving her crazy.

And so, she threw herself into her work, and was happy to find that when she went to bed at night, she was so exhausted that she didn't even have the energy to dream.

But, if she thought that her peace would continue, she was wrong.

Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sai had been sent to Suna with several scrolls for the new kazekage, Gaara, to sign. They were gone for nearly two weeks, and when they returned, she was shocked to find not only her teammates at the gate, but also the kazekage, himself, along with his brother and sister.

It seemed that the scrolls that had been sent to Suna warned the kazekage of the impending threat that the Akatsuki posed, and Gaara wanted to discuss with Konoha's hokage on what they needed to do in order to stop the Akatsuki in their tracks.

At first, the meetings went well, but when it was proposed by one of the elders that perhaps the problem needed to be dealt with by both Naruto and Gaara, seeing as how they were the only ones that the Akatsuki were after, all hell broke loose.

Once she managed to heal the elder, while Tsunade and Jiraiya held a very angry Naruto, and Temari and Kankuro held back a very blood-thirsty Gaara, it was decided that the meeting would adjourn until the next day and that the elders were not invited.

Naruto and Gaara decided to go to the training fields, to work out their anger on each other, and she decided to tag along. At first, she had been frightened of Gaara, seeing as how he nearly crushed her with his sand when she was twelve, but when he noticed her hesitation around him, he asked Naruto about her, and was told who she was and what had almost happened.

She was sure that she was probably one in a handful of people who had ever received an apology from the stoic kazekage, and he never failed to include her in his invitations to spar with him and Naruto. Eventually, her fear of him waned, and she soon found that she enjoyed talking with him, and found an intellectual equal.

And, in her, he found a friend who would never turn him away. No matter what.

However, whenever they would spar, she was always the first one to bow out. Even with the lengths she had come, she still could not keep up with either of the demon containers, and so, often watched as they beat each other to bloody pulps, and then suppressed a grin when they came to her afterwards for healing.

Despite their demons being able to heal them, Naruto had mentioned to Gaara just how nice her chakra felt when she was healing him, and because he was naturally curious, Gaara requested that she heal him, too. Just so that he could see how nice it felt for himself.

It was during this visit from Suna's leader, that she began to experience the dreams, once again, and this time, they were even more heartbreaking than before.

She would have never thought that someone like Itachi would be capable of tears, or the emotion, sadness, but in one of her dreams, she watched as he slid to a stop, and glanced behind his back.

Once he was sure that he was not being followed by the ANBU from Konoha, he slid down the trunk of a tree, and held his head in his hands.

The sounds that came from his throat were those of a boy, much like the ones that came from Sasuke's throat.

_"Hate me, little brother." _

Those words seemed to echo in her mind as she watched Itachi slowly reach up and remove his head plate. Taking a kunai out of his weapon's pouch, he slowly etched a line through the Konoha symbol, and then allowed himself to take in several deep breaths as he stared at the mark, now declaring him as a missing nin.

She didn't realize just how much of her attention that Itachi had started to occupy, but when she was suddenly hit with a face full of sand, and moments later found herself on her back, with Gaara standing above her, his face showing his disapproval, she knew that she was in trouble.

Damn her and her soft heart.

* * *

They watched as the kazekage fought with their target, and while Kisame's eyes were upon Naruto, Itachi's eyes were upon the young female, her body language telling him that she was not concentrating on her surroundings.

He watched as her face scrunched up every couple of minutes, but then relaxed. However, he smirked when she suddenly went flying, and found herself flat on the ground, with the redhead standing above her, his arms crossed over his chest.

It was clear that the red head was scolding her, but he lifted his brow as the girl gave the sand demon a sheepish smile and then shook her head. Their now secondary target, the kyuubi container, ran towards the girl, shouting her name, and slid to a stop, on his knees, beside her.

Despite being so far away, both men could hear the blonde's frantic words.

"What in the hell was that for, Gaara?" Naruto demanded, his face scrunched up in displeasure. "Sakura, are you all right?"

The girl stood and brushed herself off, slapping away Naruto's hands as she shook her head. "I'm fine, Naruto." She said, her tone soft. "It's my fault. Gaara saw his chance and took it. I guess that teaches me to loose focus on my surroundings."

Naruto's eyebrow lifted, but then he broke out into a grin. "Well, just try and keep your guard up. You never know when one of those nasty Akatsuki guys are going to rear their ugly head again, you know." He said, his tone growing hard. "They really freak me out. Especially that shark guy. Did you ever see anything so ugly? And what about Sasuke's older brother? That guy needs to be put out of his misery."

Kisame glared down at the small group and then glared over at Itachi, when the shorter man gave a sharp shake of his head.

"Do not forget why we are here." Itachi said, his tone calm. "The container is not our primary focus, at least, not now. We want the girl, and the more distracted she is, the easier of a target she becomes."

Kisame's lip curled up in a sneer, but then allowed his eyes to turn back to the field. Both men watched as the kyuubi container asked his friends if they were hungry, but when told no, he told them that he would see them later, and then disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Now, all that remained in the field was the kazekage, and Sakura.

"You are never this distracted, and do not confuse me for Naruto. I'm not that easy to fool." Gaara said, his tone as stoic as ever. "Why are you not able to focus?"

Sakura's eyes met with Gaara's and she sighed as she thumped back to the ground, her shoulders sagging. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?" She asked, her green eyes pleading.

When Gaara nodded, she began to speak, and for once in his life, Itachi allowed his curiosity to arise, and shoved in front of Kisame so that he could have a better view of the girl as she spoke.

For nearly an hour, Sakura talked, and not once did Gaara interrupt her. Instead, he was attentive and when she was finally done, he quietly asked, "Are you still having the dreams?"

Itachi's head was bowed, as he listened. He, too, had been having dreams, but his dreams were about the pink haired girl, and for the first time, since that horrible night, he was able to have a full night's sleep, without waking up.

Now, from what he understood, the girl was experiencing his nightmares. While he certainly didn't want those dreams back, he knew that the girl was very smart, and would probably figure out what had really happened on that horrible night.

And, if she figured it all out, then it was highly possible that she would go running to her beloved hokage, or worse, his little brother.

He could not let that happen.

"Have you told anyone else about what you saw in the mangekyo?" Gaara asked, as he looked over the field.

"No." Sakura whispered, though due to his heightened senses, Kisame was able to hear clearly. He shook his head at this partner, whose tense shoulders relaxed.

"Sasuke would hate me. He would accuse me of trying to protect his brother." Sakura said, as she brought her knees up to her chest, and hugged them tightly to her. "Naruto would be angry with me for upsetting Sasuke. Sai, well, Sai would probably use that information to annoy Sasuke and Naruto with. Kakashi-sen...Kakashi would be furious with me, because he is firm in his belief that Itachi did it, and that he is nothing but pure evil. So, I've kept it to myself."

"And, suffered for it." Gaara finished for her. 'His eyes are quite pretty.' Inner Sakura said, her voice soft. Ever since the incident with the mangekyo, her inner personality had been quite, troubled. This was the first time since that horrible day that she had spoken. It seemed that Itachi's pain hurt her, too.

Sakura's eyes, to her horror, welled with tears, and before she could stop them, huge tears began to roll down her cheeks. Gaara didn't say a word. Instead, he moved closer to her, and imitating what he had once seen Kankuro do to Temari, when she discovered that the Nara boy was dating that loud blond on his team, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him until her face was buried in his neck.

* * *

"We've seen enough." Itachi stated, and then turned his back. Kisame looked at his partner, with poorly concealed curiosity, and then looked back at the girl. Shrugging, he followed his partner, and soon, both were gone.

* * *

Gaara walked Sakura back into the village, and followed her to her apartment. Without a word, he followed her inside, and nodded when she quietly said that she was going to start dinner. They had failed to notice just how much time had passed as they talked, but it was frighteningly clear to Gaara.

Because of what she was experiencing, and the fact that Itachi had not been able to hold her, it was highly probable that the Akatsuki would be interested in seeing how she escaped, and the only way they could do that was if Sakura were in their control.

He also had been aware of two very distinct presences, and though he didn't tell Sakura, he could almost say, without a doubt, that it had been the missing-nin and his partner.

Now, the Uchiha knew that Sakura was experiencing disturbing dreams of his past, and would probably want to silence her, especially since she knew that he had not been the one to commit the acts against his clan.

That meant, that his new friend was going to need protection, and since she had sworn him to secrecy, he was going to give her the protection that she needed.

His.

* * *

_"Are you all right?" He said, his eyes kind as he bent down to help her collect the items that had been spilled and then placed them into the bag. "That was a pretty hard fall." _

_Her eyes shyly moved up to meet his, and he offered her a soft smile. When she nodded her head, indicating that she was fine, he picked up the bag and said, "I'll walk you home." _

_She quickly shook her head and brushed herself off. "It's ok." She whispered, softly. "I don't want to bother you." _

_"Believe me, it is not a bother." He replied, his hand moving over to the top of her head, ruffling her short hair. "Besides, it isn't every day that I get to walk such a pretty girl home." _

_"Me?" She asked, her voice filled with doubt. She peered up at him, waiting for him to tell her that he was 'just kidding'. _

_He could see the doubt that lived in her eyes and silently cursed those awful girls, who teased the little girl before him, mercilessly. _ _He was reminded of his younger brother, who often held that same look, especially when he stood before their father, hoping to be praised on the techniques that he was learning. _

_It was a look born of pure hope that someone would accept them. _

_"Of course." He murmured, and motioned for her to walk with him. "What is your name, little one?" _

_"Haruno Sakura." She whispered, and quickly looked at the ground. She wasn't stupid. She knew who he was. He was Uchiha Sasuke's older brother. The same brother that her classmate would always say he was going to beat. One day. _

_"My name is Uchiha Itachi." He said, his tone rich with amusement. He told her that he had seen her practicing with her kunai, the other day, and that if she practiced hard enough, she would become quite good. _

_She was not used to such praise. In fact, she seemed almost distrustful of anything that didn't have to do with scorn. _

_As they walked, he allowed his mouth to set in a hard line, as he saw the same girls who had attacked Sakura, watching them. He narrowed his eyes at them, daring them to try and get near Sakura, and nearly laughed when their little faces paled, and when he and Sakura neared the group, he watched as the girls quickly disappeared. _

_Sakura had scooted closer to him, her eyes wary upon the small group of girls. But, he didn't mind. If it made her feel safer to walk closely to him, he would allow it. _

_When they reached her front door, it opened and a woman, with a bright smile greeted them. "There you are." She said, and then gasped when she realized that her daughter had an escort. _

_It was clear to him that the woman knew who he was. She gave a short bow to him and softly asked, "Is there anything wrong, Uchiha-san?" _

_"None at all." He replied, his eyes moving down to Sakura. "I happen to enjoy playing the hero for a pretty damsel in distress." _

_Her mother lifted a curious eyebrow, but then accepted the torn grocery back into her arms. She smiled and then asked, "Sakura, what do you say to Uchiha-san?" _

_Turning around to face him, Sakura could not quite bring herself to lift her eyes to his, and she timidly said, "Thank you for bringing me home, Uchiha-san." _

_Kneeling down to her level, he realized that despite being five years older than her, she was still very petite. Once grown, she would probably only reach the top of his chest. He reached out and ruffled her hair, before softly saying, "Sakura, ignore those girls. They are jealous, and hateful. Never listen to their words, because they are not true." _

_Sakura nodded, and he, once again, ruffled her hair, his mind noting just how soft the strands felt, and then respectfully bowed to her mother, before lifting his hand in a wave, and taking his leave. _

_As he walked, he smiled. _

_She was such a cute, little girl. _

_

* * *

_

He awoke and noticed that the sun was streaming through the dirty window. Well, he had been correct when he had said that she would probably only reach his chest. She was pretty short, but he could tell that her personality more than made up for her stature.

It certainly was a shock to see her so forceful, and he just could not see the timid little girl she had once been within that strong woman.

She had also turned out be quite a beauty.

The shrinking violet had turned into a blossom that commanded attention, and now, she had his. Not that it was a good thing.

* * *

He turned to look at her room, and watched as the door slowly opened. Sakura emerged, and he quirked an eyebrow up at her appearance.

He knew that she didn't sleep well, mainly because she had spent a good part of the night, crying. Because he was so new to people and their emotions, he simply left her alone, and had been relieved when her sobs finally stopped around three in the morning.

The evening had been very quiet, and when she was ready to go to bed, he simply made himself comfortable on the couch, and because she was now used to his ways, she didn't try to persuade him to leave, but instead, offered him a blanket.

After she took her shower, and changed her clothes, she reemerged, and gave him a tired smile. "Good morning." She said, her voice weak.

"You cannot go on like this." He stated, and crossed his arms over his chest, as he towered over her. "You are going to make yourself sick."

Sakura knew that he was right. So right, that she could not even muster up the words to snap at him, telling him to mind his own business. Instead, she sank into a chair and placed her head into her folded arms.

For what seemed like several minutes, Gaara finally said, "He will come for you, Sakura."

Lifting her head, she focused her puffy eyes upon the redhead and said, "Huh?"

Sighing and giving her an eyeroll, Gaara pulled out the chair that was across from her and sat down. He folded his hands and calmly said, "The elder Uchiha will come for you."

"I wish that he would just leave Naruto alone." Sakura murmured, miserably.

"He won't come for Naruto." Gaara snapped, his patience wearing thin. "He will come for you, and he will want to figure out how you were able to break the mangekyo's hold."

Sakura's eyes widened, and she allowed her head to fall back to her arms.

Well, she had finally gained the attention of the Uchiha. It just happened to be the attention of the wrong one.

* * *

Sasuke glared at the blonde idiot, and then over at Sai, who was doing his best to piss him and Naruto off with his whistling. As the minutes grew longer, it became clear to him that out of his team, he was the only stable one.

Finally, he just could not take it, anymore. Whirling around, he snapped, "Knock it off, wannabe."

Sai lifted his eyebrow, and then gave him one of his 'smiles'. "Sorry." He said, his tone telling the other two males that he really wasn't. "Am I bothering you?"

Before he could reply, Naruto stood up and said, "Sakura, where in the hell have you been?"

The two dark haired males turned and watched as their female teammate approached, and both noticed that the kazekage was with her. But, when she came closer, it was clear to all three that she had been crying.

She walked past her teammates, without a word, and when the males turned to look at him, Gaara simply said, "She had a rough night."

Naruto turned on his heel and hurried to her side, and made her stop. "Sakura, what's wrong?" He demanded, his normally easy-going nature quickly replaced with concern.

She shook her head. "I wasn't able to sleep last night." She mumbled, and moved around the blonde. She felt a hand upon her arm and turned to see Naruto's blue eyes glaring down at her. "You know, I've tried so hard to understand what has been going on with you, and I've allowed myself to come to the conclusion that your sudden depression is due to the encounter with Itachi, but this has gone on long enough." He snapped.

Sasuke and Sai approached, and Gaara trailed them, knowing full well what was about to come. He was silent as the three males surrounded the small female.

"The dobe is right, Sakura." Sasuke said, his arms crossed over his chest. "Even I've seen a change in you, and I want the truth, right now. What did you really see when Itachi trapped you in the mangekyo?"

Sakura tensed, and gave a pleading glance over her shoulder to Gaara. When she saw that he wasn't going to come to her aid, she turned and found that her three team mates had spaced themselves out, so if she tried to bolt, one would catch her.

Finally, she whispered, "Please. Please don't do this to me."

He knew it. She had lied about what she had seen. He knew Itachi too well, and knew that he must have tortured her in that pseudo-world.

Naruto glanced over at Gaara. From the look on his friend's face, the red-head knew what she was hiding. Didn't she trust them? Him?

When he saw that no answer would be leaving the lips of the Shukaku container, he turned his attention back to Sakura, who was now shaking. He frowned, and stepped forward.

"Look," He said, his tone calm. "We are a team. We need to be able to trust one another. Sakura, you have to tell us what you saw, or else, I am going straight to baa-chan and tell her that you held some information back in your report. I don't care if you get into trouble, and if it makes you finally talk, then I will do it."

He knew that it was cruel. It wasn't like he had never held back information before, but he was never hurting anyone by it. Sakura, on the other hand, was hurting herself, and he loved her enough to stop her.

Her face paled. She stared up at him with a look of betrayal, and he felt his heart leap into his throat and he watched as her head dropped. He knew that it was a betrayal of her trust, but on the other hand, she was betraying them by not telling them everything.

Finally, she gave him her decision.

"Fine." She said. Then, she lifted her head, and he could see that there was no warmth for him, in her eyes. "Do what you have to."

Turning, she brushed past Sai, who let her go without a fight. She walked past Gaara, and held her head high as she strode out of the field.

Naruto angrily ran his hands through his hair and then tilted his head back and bellowed, "FUCK!"


	4. Because I Loved Them

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone. Much like gas fuels a car, reviews fuel authors. So, please read and review._

_

* * *

_

_She stood in the middle of the field. It was bright, and she could hear the chirping of the birds as she looked around. However, her eyes came to a sudden halt, when she saw that she was not alone in that field._

_He stood a few feet away, his long hair swaying lazily in the soft breeze, and she could not help but be mesmerized at how those strands fell back into place. She waited for several minutes, but when nothing happened, she frowned._

_Her eyes slid over the field, once more, but quickly froze when she heard his voice._

"_I loved them."_

_Snapping her eyes back to where the young man stood, she found that she was no longer looking at his back, but was now looking into his eyes._

_Eyes that were filled with pain. _

"_I loved them so much that I would have done whatever it took to make them happy." He said, his tone soft. "In the end, I wasn't able to do anything."_

_She looked around, trying to see if he was talking to someone else, seeing as how he had never spoken to her, before. When she didn't see anyone else, she timidly asked, "Are you talking to me?"_

_Itachi moved forward and stopped right in front of her. He looked up at the sky, and when he returned his gaze to her face, she could see that he had activated his sharingan._

"_Do you know what the greatest folly of the Uchiha clan was?" He asked, his head cocking to the side. When she didn't respond, he allowed a bitter smile to cross his lips. "We were always looking at outsiders, suspicious of their motives towards us, and we never gave thought that one of our own could ever betray us. We were fools."_

_Sakura took in a deep breath and asked, "Why did you take the blame for what another did?"_

_Itachi frowned. "You don't have any siblings, do you?" He asked, curiously. "When Sasuke was born, I was happy and I was the first one, even before my mother and father, to get to hold him. When he began to walk, I was there to catch him when he fell. When he began to speak, he called for me. When our family was ripped away, I had the choice, either tell him what really happened and risk him going after Madara, or telling him that I did it, and have him come after me. I chose the latter. I wanted him to become strong enough to kill me, so that if he did face Madara, he would have a better chance of survival."_

"_Madara?" Sakura murmured. "He fought the first hokage, and lost."_

"_That is correct." Itachi confirmed. "He lost not only the battle, but the Uchiha clan honor. He had even gained the mangekyo, and yet, in the end, he could not beat the hokage. That is why he waited for the Uchiha he felt would finally wipe that dishonor away. He waited for me, and I refused."_

_He looked away for a moment, but when he turned back to her, his eyes were in the mangekyo form. "I refused, and he did the only thing he could think of to punish me. He took away my family, my village, and worst of all, he took my little brother." He said._

_She felt the hot tears sliding down her cheeks, and froze when he reach over and gently brushed them away. "Don't cry." He murmured, his tone soft. "Sasuke used to cry when father ignored him. The time for tears has long since passed."_

* * *

Sakura's eyes opened, and she noticed that this time, she had made it to her bed. She was about to close her eyes, once more, but a loud knock on her door forced her to get up.

She moved sluggishly down her hall, and when she got to her door, she frowned. She recognized the chakra signature that was radiating from the other side, and she sighed. 

Naruto clearly followed through with his threat, and now, she was to be escorted to her sensei.

Naruto was going to get it.

* * *

He knew that he was a dead man. Despite what people believed, he wasn't dense. He watched as her green eyes narrowed at him, and as Shikamaru guided her to the chair in front of baa-chan, she made sure that he knew that he was in big trouble with her.

Thankfully, he healed really fast.

Tsunade watched as Sakura sat down, and she glanced up at Kakashi, who happened to be standing with Jiraiya, behind her. Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto were also attending, mainly because they were very concerned about her.

Actually, Naruto was concerned. Sai was there to annoy the hell out of everyone, and Sasuke wanted to know anything that had to do with Itachi.

Before she could say a word, Sakura beat her to the punch. "Let's not waste each other's time." She said, her tone clipped. "Yes, I was tortured. No, I don't want any help dealing with it. Yes, I am mad as hell at Naruto. And, yes, he will be visiting you in the hospital, very soon. No, I will not be the one to heal him."

"Well, now this is the kind of interrogation that I like." Jiraiya exclaimed, happily. He tried to walk around Tsunade, but froze when she snapped, "We are not done, and you are not going to go and peek at women. Besides, if Kakashi had not saved your sorry ass, Anko would have put her fist right through your skull, so shut up and stand there."

Her honeyed colored eyes turned back to her student, who was glaring at the blonde knucklehead. She quirked her mouth up in a smile, but then shook her head. She felt a twinge of pity for the young man.

"Why didn't you report this?" She asked, her tone telling Sakura that it would not be wise to be anything less than truthful.

Sakura sighed. "Because I didn't think that the damage was so bad." She replied, her head hanging. "I didn't realize that there had been significant damage, until I began having the nightmares. After that, I decided to just deal with them."

Kakashi stepped forward, and even though he wasn't her sensei, anymore, he decided to use 'the voice' that she would recognize as being the one that she could not dismiss and give him some flippant answer. "You asked Tsunade-sama to see Itachi's file. You also asked me about the mangekyo sharingan. Sakura, you must be honest with us and tell us everything."

Sakura lifted her head, and snuck a glance at Sasuke. Her eyes quickly averted, but the action wasn't missed by the copy-nin.

"All of this has to do with Sasuke." He concluded, and watched as the younger Uchiha's back stiffened. "Sasuke has the right to know, Sakura. Anything that you know about Itachi, he has the right to know, as well."

"Then perhaps he needs to go and speak with his brother, instead of continuing to fight him. He might be surprised at what he finds." Sakura snapped, and then clamped her hand over her mouth. 

The occupants of the room looked stunned, and her eyes widened. Normally, she had excellent control over her inner personality, but at Kakashi's statement and her constant exhaustion, inner Sakura just snapped, and she had been powerless to do a thing to stop her.

Oh, this was not good.

* * *

The bird flew back and landed in its master's palm. After a few chirps, the blonde glanced over at Itachi and said, "She's been hauled into the hokage's office, yeah. She's told them that you tortured her in the mangekyo, but that isn't the most interesting thing." Deidara said, smirking. "When the copy ninja told her that she needed to tell them all that she knew, and that your brat of a brother had a right to know, she blurted out that perhaps the little fool should talk to you, instead of fight you, yeah."

Itachi's eyes opened, and he calmly asked, "Is that all she said?"

Deidara's face lit up into a huge grin. "Pretty much, yeah." He drawled, and then began to laugh. "However, after her little tirade, the kyuubi container drew attention to himself by coughing and the girl decided that it would be a good time to introduce him to her fists. He screams louder than a girl, yeah."

Kisame joined Deidara, and laughed loudly. Itachi turned away, and stared at the village. He needed to get to that girl quickly. She was slowly starting to give into their demands, and he had to make sure that she didn't reveal what she knew.

He gave Kisame a quick nod, and when he received a nod, in return, he left, and headed towards the village. It was time that he and the kunoichi had a talk.

* * *

Tiredly, she closed the door behind her, and moved over to her couch. She sat down and brought her fingers to her temples, massaging the area as a headache threatened to overtake her.

As thunder began to rumble in the darkening skies, she turned her eyes to the sliding-glass door, and wondered if Naruto would awaken soon.

Then, she remembered that he was the cause of her headache, and then decided that she didn't feel any sympathy for him. 

In fact, had he not gone to Tsunade-sensei, she would not have had a horrible day, and she would not have had to beat his ass. He should have kept his nose to himself.

And, where in the hell was Gaara? She had gotten the feeling from him that he had been concerned for her, and now, he was no where to be found.

She was going to have to get him back, too. Of course, she'd have to think of another way besides pummeling him. Unlike Naruto, he wouldn't be so easy to hit.

When she became aware of the other chakra signature in her apartment, she silently cursed herself. The intruder had not even tried to conceal themselves, and when she focused, she found that her un-invited guest had decided to wait for her in her kitchen.

She slowly turned her head and watched as the object of her nightmares walked out of her kitchen, a plate within his hand. His eyes were upon hers, and he calmly said, "Your friend's mother dropped this off for you and I found it on your table. I found it to be quite satisfactory."

She stood up, and clenched her fists. "W-what do you want?" She demanded, her tone telling him that she was fighting an internal battle. Fear versus indignation.

Fear was clearly winning.

"We must discuss our current situation." He stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. She watched as he moved into her living room, and calmly removed his cloak. Once done, he hung the material over a chair and then sat down across from her, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

She watched as he elegantly crossed his legs, and motioned for her to sit. "I'll stand." She said, her own voice telling him that she was going to be quite childish about this.

"We have found ourselves in quite a situation, you and I." He stated, almost to himself. "I am sure that you have figured out my secret, and I can't have you running to Sasuke with what you know."

"What?" She asked, irritably. "That you actually have the ability to love someone other than yourself? Trust me, no one would believe it."

His eyes cut over to her, and he could not help but notice that she was pouting. No, the little girl he had once known was long gone. 

"Let us not play stupid." He said, his eyes narrowing. "We both know what you saw, and we both know that my reputation has been blemished, due to that fateful encounter. As much as both of us would like to forget it, we cannot."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her eyebrow at him as if to say, 'Duh.'

He continued on, ignoring her, and said, "I cannot permit you to tell my brother what you know. As such, I am here to make you an offer."

Now he had her attention. Akatsuki, especially this one, did not bargain. He knew that he held her attention, and said, "You are to come with me, and I will no longer pursue the kyuubi."

"Why do you want me?" She asked, her headache growing stronger with each passing moment. "Look, we both know that you let me go and that I didn't break your precious mangekyo. And, as for Sasuke, I'm not going to tell him anything. Besides, even if you didn't go after Naruto, you'd send that sorry excuse for a shark, or someone else from your little club after him."

He couldn't stop the slight twinge of respect from igniting. He had to give her credit. She wasn't stupid. But, then again, she was the fifth hokage's apprentice for a good reason.

"Organization." He clarified. When she gave him a puzzled stare, he said, "Akatsuki is an organization, not a club."

"Who in the hell cares?" She snapped, her green eyes blazing. "All I know is that because you tried to put me in your mangekyo, I have to suffer through all of your little flashbacks. You think that you are a god among men, just because you have that freaky weapon at your disposal."

He sat quietly through her explosion and when she quieted down, he calmly said, "A man who thinks that he is a god is a fool."

"Then you must be the king." She growled through clenched teeth.

For the first time, in a long time, he allowed his face to show his displeasure. But, she wasn't focused on him, thus robbing herself from seeing a very rare occurrence. Instead, she decided to continue her rant. 

"The way you play with peoples lives, using your sharingan to hurt them mentally, you are acting like a god." She snapped, her eyes finally moving back to him. 

He studied her for several minutes and then stood up. Sakura's eyes were wary, as she took a step back from him.

"You are hurting Sasuke, even if you don't want to."

Her words froze him. He knew that he was hurting his brother, but to have someone else say it out loud, made the ache that lived inside of him, grow.

She took in a deep breath, and softly said, "What happened with your family was not your fault. Why would you ever believe it was?"

He didn't respond to her words. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, she found herself staring into the mangekyo, once more.

As she began to lose consciousness, she heard a voice, but she could not be sure if it was the Itachi who stood in her living room, or the Itachi whom she had seen in her dreams.

"_Because I loved them."_

* * *

He watched as her chest slowly rose and then fell, telling him that she was deeply asleep. He now knew that his initial suspicion had been correct.

She had a natural defense to his mangekyo. Before he could pull her into that dark world, something broke the mental bindings that had held her, and once free, she pitched forward, and fell into his arms, asleep.

He moved her to the couch, to begin his observation of her, and knew that he had to do something. This so-called ability that she had was dangerous to him, and if her new sensei, or even that copy-nin found out about what she could do, they would probably train her so that her mental stamina grew to the point where she would not pass out after encountering the mangekyo.

A smirk crossed his lips and he was about to pick her up, but the chakra signature that was nearing told him that he would have to leave her behind. He glanced down at the girl and allowed his hand to gently pick up a lock of her hair.

It was just as soft as he remembered it.

* * *

He found her asleep on her couch and frowned. He could barely detect a scent, and knew that Sakura had not been alone. The strength of the scent told him that whomever Sakura had been with had only left the apartment moments before he arrived.

Gaara's eyes narrowed as he walked through the apartment, and when he was satisfied that there was no one in the apartment, he returned to Sakura and gently lifted her into his arms. He carried her to her bed, and once she was settled, he left the room, and walked back into the living room.

He was about to sit down, and begin his meditation, but a knock on the door stopped him. Standing up, he moved to the door, and when he opened it, he found himself looking into the eyes of Uchiha Sasuke.

"Where is she?" He demanded, his tone hard. "She and I are going to talk."

Gaara closed the door behind the man and calmly said, "She is asleep, and you will not awaken her. This is the first time in days that she has been able to sleep, and you will not disturb her."

Sasuke glared at the red head, but then looked down the hall to see that her bedroom door was closed. After several minutes, he turned and snapped, "You know what is going on with her, don't you?"

"I do." Gaara replied, nodding. "But, it is not my place to tell what I know, nor will I betray her confidence. She will tell you when she is ready."

"That's not good enough." Sasuke snapped, his patience gone. "She knows something about my bastard of a brother, and I want to know."

Gaara simply gave an elegant shrug of his shoulder, and then quietly said, "You are not the only one suffering. She, too, suffers, and as her friend, you should be more concerned about her, rather than someone who clearly isn't concerned about you."

Sasuke grunted, but then turned on his heel and walked over to the door. "If you are really her friend, then tell her to tell her team mates what she knows." He said, his tone hard. "I won't work with someone that I don't trust, and she is making it very hard to trust her."

"And, yet you are the one who knocked her out, left her on a stone bench, ran off with the snake, and still you stand here, talking about trust." Gaara sneered, his own patience gone. "Don't be such a hypocrite, Uchiha. It isn't becoming."

He fought the urge to flip the kazekage off, and left. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and began to walk towards his home. He frowned as he recalled Gaara's words. 

Was he being a hypocrite? All he wanted was for Sakura to be free of whatever was bothering her. He didn't want to lose another loved one to Itachi's madness. Perhaps he was going about this all wrong. Instead of bullying her to tell him, he would have to come up with another way to get her to trust him enough to tell him.

* * *

He stood in the room, the same room his parents had died in. At first, he wondered what he thought he would find here, but as he stared at the floor, he could almost see their lifeless bodies, and he could almost hear the childish cries of his brother.

Blinking, he forced the memories into the deep recesses of his mind, and froze when he heard the door to the house open.

Sasuke was home.

He moved into the shadows, and waited. But, when his brother did not appear, he narrowed his eyes when he heard the door open and close, again. He moved over to the window, and watched as Sasuke began to throw kunai at the targets.

He had to say that his brother had certainly come a long way. He used to miss. A lot. Now, as he watched his brother, he felt the ache in his chest grow, and he allowed his eyes to close. From out of nowhere, the question that Sakura had asked him came rushing forward, and though he had not answered her then, he soft said, "Because I loved them."


	5. I Know Your Truth

A/N: This chapter has given me nothing but grief. I've done all I can and hope that it sounds good. If you are wondering why Sakura is not fighting back, just wait until next chapter. That's when all of the fun will start.

Please be kind and feed the review monster.

!

_He watched as she begged him to stay. He felt his shoulders tense up when he heard her say, "I know that you hate me."_

_Hate her? No, he didn't hate her. He had to move away from her, to protect her from himself._

_He watched as she closed her eyes, and slumped into his arms, and watched as she was placed onto the cold stone bench. Then, his younger brother turned and without a backwards glance left the leaf village, and began his life as Orochimaru's puppet._

_He walked over to the bench and looked down. Her eyes were open and her tears fell onto the cold stone beneath her. He lifted his hand and was about to place it on top of her head, but stopped when she quietly asked, "He isn't coming back, is he?"_

_"One day, he will return." He replied._

_Slowly, she sat up and said, "I tried to stop him, but he only lives for the day that he kills you."_

_What could he say? He knew exactly why Sasuke went to Orochimaru. But, Sasuke didn't understand that it wasn't his elder brother that he needed to be worried about. He needed to be worried about that sadistic monster named Uchiha Madara._

_"He will come back and you will see that he will be fine." He said, his hand running through her hair while his eyes looked in the direction that his brother had taken._

_She shook her head. "It's all going to be different." She said. "Things have already changed."_

_He turned to look at her, and found himself looking at the same small girl he had met all those years ago. Her innocence had charmed him, her eyes had made him smile, and most of all, her need to be accepted made him want to protect her._

_But, could he protect her from himself?_

_!_

His eyes opened and he found himself staring at the night sky. His eyes narrowed as a strange feeling enveloped his chest, and he wondered how much longer he would have to deal with it. Sitting up, his eyes wandered over the resting forms of his companions, and he had the sudden urge to go and seek out Sakura, once more.

But, he needed to figure out a way to prevent her from breaking out of his mangekyo. Even if she had not tried, she broke it without breaking a sweat, and despite passing out from the exertion, and never mind the fact that it took her even less time than before to break it, she had done it, and this time, he had made sure to concentrate on her fully, studying her in great detail.

He stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff, and peered down at the village. Even now, they were completely unaware of the world around them. He was positive that the kazekage had not informed Sakura's friends or the hokage of what actually transpired, but he could no longer take the chance that she would not simply break and tell them, herself.

And so, he had to come up with an idea of how to get the girl alone so that he could remove her from the village. He knew that if he were to simply go into the village, and take her, the leaf ninja would know exactly who had taken her, and would come running straight for the Akatsuki.

No, he needed to think of a way to remove her, without alerting anyone that she was being stalked. It was thanks to Deidara's little spy that they had learned that the kazekage and his siblings were returning to Suna in a day or two, so that would give him enough time to come up with a suitable plan to retrieve Sakura. Perhaps that little bird of Deidara's could provide yet another use.

!

Yawning, Sakura opened her eyes and blinked. She was in her bedroom, and still fully dressed. Frowning, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Opening her bedroom door, she crept into the living room to find Gaara sitting on her couch, flipping through the channels of her television.

He turned to look at her, and lifted his eyebrow. "You were asleep when I arrived, so I moved you into your bedroom." He stated, and then turned his attention back to the television screen. When he didn't say anything else, she sighed and walked into her kitchen, eager to make herself some of the tea her mother had bought her for headache relief.

Never before had she slept so hard. Not that she didn't need it, of course, but after the past several weeks, her body had welcomed the rest and she was more than happy to accept it. But, when the memory of just who had caused her to fall asleep resurfaced, she gasped and dropped the cup from her hand, the glass shattering all around her.

Gaara appeared at the entrance of her kitchen and took in her pale features. Without a word, he moved forward and gently lifted her up and moved her out of the kitchen and away from the broken glass. Sitting her down on a chair, he straightened and crossed his arms.

"The Uchiha was here." He stated, his eyes narrowing.

"I-I don't understand why he is doing this." She said, her hands twisting in her laps. "Why can't he leave me alone? I don't care what happened with his family, and I don't care if he thinks that he is doing the right thing by forcing Sasuke to become stronger. I just don't care, anymore!"

"So, Uchiha Itachi paid you a visit, as well." Gaara said, his head cocking to the side as he looked the girl before him over with a critical eye. "Yet, he did not harm you."

Now Sakura was confused. "Of course Itachi was here. You just said so yourself. Is it the Shukaku's sense of smell that helped you detect him?" She asked, curious.

Gaara allowed a slight lifting of his lip, but then shook his head. "I was referring to the younger Uchiha. However, I was able to detect a slight scent, but not enough to be completely sure." He clarified. "Naruto and I have both decided not to use our demons' abilities unless absolutely necessary. I have learned to shove Shukaku far back into my mind, thus allowing me to live a some-what normal life."

Frowning, Sakura muttered, "What did Sasuke want?"

"He wanted you to tell him everything that you know." Gaara replied, and sat down beside her. "I told him to quit being a hypocrite. He left unsatisfied."

Giving him a grateful smile, she sighed and asked, "Am I wrong to keep this from them? Should I just tell them everything, and maybe if I do, then this will all be resolved."

Gaara's eyes narrowed, but he then shook his head. "I cannot tell you that you are wrong." He said. "However, I do believe that Uchiha Itachi has developed an interest in you, and that could prove to be dangerous."

"Great." Sakura mumbled, and then let her head fall to the table. It never could be easy for her, could it?

!

Three days passed and Sakura watched as Gaara and his siblings walked away. But, before he left, he extended an invitation to her and said that if she needed a place to go, she was welcomed in Suna, and he would house her within his own private quarters.

Of course, that statement earned her a few curious looks, and an elbow in the ribs from Ino. When he was finally gone, Ino crossed her arms and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"So, do you want to share with us why the esteemed kazekage has invited you to Suna, and let's also discuss why he would extend the invitation to share his personal quarters." Ino said, her blue eyes lighting up gaily, and then darting over to Sasuke, who stood a few feet away, glaring at the ground.

Sakura took in a deep breath and then shook her head. "He was just offering me a room in his home, Ino. You know that Gaara is a bit blunt when he speaks, so his invitation came out a little wrong." She said, praying that her voice didn't sound as weak as she thought it did. "As for me going to Suna, well, we were talking about how the hospital needs a few changes and he invited me to come and overlook them. It is really nothing to get excited about."

Tenten smiled. "I don't know about that, Sakura." She said, her brown eyes twinkling. "With as much time as the two of you spent together, people are going around saying that you and Gaara are an item. If you are, it's a good thing, but you have to admit, spending so much time, alone in your apartment, with such a handsome man is certainly fodder for the rumor mill."

Hinata blushed and took in a deep breath. "W-we are g-going out to-tonight, Sakura." She whispered, her pale eyes lowering to the floor. "W-will you come?"

Smiling, she nodded and Ino let out a loud whoop. "Tonight is ladies night, so that means no boys allowed." She declared, and blew a kiss over at Shikamaru, who sighed and muttered that girls were 'troublesome'. He tilted his head back and proceeded to watch the birds that were flying over head.

Naruto, who was still trying to get back into Sakura's good graces, wrapped his arm around Hinata, and smiled when her face blushed a pretty pink. "Have a good time, tonight. We're going over to the Uchiha brat's house, so if you need me, I'll be there." He said, and leaned over to kiss his precious Hinata's cheek.

Neji stepped forward and yanked the kyuubi container away from his cousin. "Let's get this over with." He mumbled, clearly unhappy about having to join in whatever the Uchiha had planned.

The boys disappeared, and the girls glanced at one another. "Ok," Ino said, her tone bossy. "We're going back to my place to get ready. Tonight, we party."

!

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she sought out her table in the crowd of people. She could not believe that so many individuals could fit into such a tiny club, but she was wrong.

As she moved around the dancers, she gritted her teeth as people bumped into her, and when she finally arrived at the table, she gave Ino a glare.

"What in the hell made you pick this place?" She demanded as she sat down beside Hinata. Ino simply waved her hands around and said, "This place is the hottest club in this village, and best of all, it is a civilian club. Here we can have as much fun as we want and don't have to face anyone we work with the next day, now you and Hinata lighten up and have a drink."

Sighing, Sakura nodded and lifted the glass to her lips. This was going to be a long night.

!

Ino caught sight of the men first. Her eyes widened and then narrowed as the men moved towards the dance floor, and she smiled.

"Ladies, I do believe that we have found our companions for the night." She drawled. Standing quickly, and then grabbing the table for support, Ino tottered her way over to the small group of men and began to talk to them.

Sakura, who was feeling very warm, smiled and then poked at Hinata, who turned to look at her with glassy eyes. "You ok?" She asked, and watched as Hinata nodded.

"I'm not allowed to drink." Hinata explained and then took another drink from her glass. "Father and Neji don't approve and say that it isn't ladylike. They would die if they saw how I was dressed."

Sakura could completely understand wheat Hinata was saying. Ino had convinced them, and even fought Tenten over the issue, to wear short skirts, low cut tops, and high heels, while telling them that they were women and they were going to flaunt it. All she wanted to do was kick off the heels and soak her poor, sore feet.

Tenten lifted her head from the table and shook her head. "That's funny," She slurred. "I can remember Neji buying drinks for a couple of girls on a few of our missions. Of course, he wanted to fuck them and I don't think that he gave a damn about how they were dressed, either."

The girls giggled, but shut up with Ino reappeared. "Ok, ladies." She said, and then broke out into a fit of giggles. "They are going to come over, so don't make assholes out of yourselves."

Sakura smirked, but then turned when a shadow fell over her, and found herself staring at a jeans covered crotch. Inner Sakura giggled and said, _'Well, hello there.'_

Looking up, she squinted and then sighed. Damn it, she should not have had that last drink. All she could see were blurs.

She was gently nudged over, and when all three men were seated, Ino chirped, "Now, isn't this cozy?"

She could see that the man before her had blonde hair and was currently whispering to Tenten, who was blushing. Another man, quite possibly the largest man she had ever seen, save for that Zazuba guy, was sitting between Ino and Hinata, and she was sitting next to a guy with dark hair.

_'And a really nice crotch.'_ Inner Sakura dreamily chimed in.

At first, no one said a word, but then Ino said, "Drinks. We need drinks."

The dark haired guy gave a nod, and then stood up. Without a word, he walked to the bar, and ordered a round of drinks, and then returned a few minutes later, their order in his grasp. Tenten and the blonde continued to whisper to each other, and then he stood up, pulling the attractive brunette with him.

They walked into the crowd of people and disappeared. Ino smirked and nodded. Tenten was a girl who needed some action that didn't have anything to do with weapons. She glanced over at Hinata, and found the heiress and the larger man, who seemed to have a very unique skin tone shade, talk. Hinata broke out into a fit of giggles, and caused both Ino and Sakura to raise their eyebrows. Hinata was clearly a very happy drunk.

Sakura smiled and watched as the man adjusted his baseball cap over his face and then bent over to whisper in the Hyuuga's ear. When she nodded, the man said, "We're going to go and play some pool. You kiddies behave."

Now, the only people at the table were Ino, Sakura, and the dark haired guy. Ino was approached by a young man who asked her to dance, and Ino quickly waved at them, and then tottered off and into the arms of the young man.

When she put her glass down, the man beside her asked, "Do you come here often?"

Shaking her head to clear her head, she said, "Nope. This is the first time I've been here. How about you?"

"I do not frequent clubs." He stated, his voice deep and rich. Inner Sakura was already drooling. "I am only here because I was looking for a very special lady."

"Oh?" Sakura asked, her voice beginning to slur even worse than before. "Maybe I can help. What does she look like?"

Itachi allowed a smirk to form on his lips as he took a sip of his drink. "Oh, I've already found her."

!

Deidara and Kisame trudged up the hill and smirked over at Itachi, who was currently sitting beside the passed out kunoichi who was sleeping in his bedroll.

"Well, I must say that your kunoichi's friends are a riot." Kisame said, and moved over to his pack while he removed the baseball cap that he was wearing. "That little girl that I was with last night certainly loves the kyuubi brat. It's too bad that she's going to have to mourn him once we get a hold of him."

Deidara smirked. He had a blast with that weapons' mistress. In fact, he would not have minded taking her out back with him, but just as he was about to suggest that they go somewhere quiet, that blond friend of hers arrived and asked if she had seen Sakura.

He had glanced over at the table and found that Sakura's glass was upside down, telling both him and Kisame that the girl had ingested the sedative and had been taken from the club by Itachi. So, he calmly suggested that he and his friend help them look for the girl, and when the other three girls were busy, the two missing nin left, and headed back to camp.

Now, after changing out of their civilian clothing, Deidara drawled, "She's a pretty one, yeah."

Itachi did not respond as he retied his head plate around his forehead. He glanced down at Sakura and sighed. While it would give them a lengthy head start, he knew that her absence would be noticed very quickly. Standing up, he said, "We are leaving."

Deidara and Kisame nodded, and when Deidara took off to go and meet up with his own partner, Kisame lifted an eyebrow. "So, she's the one that shook off your mangekyo." He said, his mouth set in a grin. "Doesn't look like much, does she?"

"Looks are deceiving." Itachi warned, his tone soft. "Come, we need to get to headquarters and report in to the leader."

!

"So, they have finally managed to secure the kunoichi." The soft voice mused. "It certainly took long enough."

Pein grimaced and then straightened. "I assure you that delays such as this one will not occur again." He said, his tone hard. "I am sorry that you have been made to wait."

The shadow moved forward and Pein watched in morbid fascination as the man came closer. "I've been doing my own research into how this girl could have broken from the mangekyo, and I think that I have come up with a theory." He said, a hint of amusement heard in his tone. "I believe that Itachi may have known this girl in his earlier years, and a part of his sub-conscious is protecting her by shielding her from his mangekyo."

"I see." Pein said, his tone hard. "Why would he protect her?"

"Itachi was groomed from birth to be the best of the Uchiha. He is strong, smart, and very cunning. But, most of all, he cared for his younger brother so much that often he would attempt to step out of the spotlight, and thrust the younger boy into it. I believe that this girl may have gained his sympathy and protection and his former self cannot allow any harm to befall her." The shadow sneered. "It really is disgusting."

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Pein demanded, his temper rising. "This girl needs to be taken out of the picture. I'll kill her, myself."

"You will not touch her." The shadow snapped. "Now we know of a weakness to use against Itachi, and if he is protecting her, then he will work that much harder to get the kyuubi. Really, Pein. You should learn some restraint."

Pein stood up and bowed as the shadow blended back into the other shadows. When he was alone, a sneer twisted his lips. It was about time Uchiha Itachi was brought down a few notches.

!

Her head hurt. It hurt really, really bad. And, it didn't help that her bed was swaying from side to side, adding to her discomfort, and knew that if it didn't stop, her drinks would be returning the same way they entered.

He heard her groan. His eyes narrowed and he glanced over at Kisame, who was eyeballing the kunoichi that was hanging over his shoulder. After her second groan, the shark nin stopped and said, "The princess needs a pit stop."

He gave a sharp nod, and watched as Kisame deposited the girl onto the ground. He walked over to Sakura and calmly said, "Kisame, scout the area. If we are being followed, take care of it."

The shark grinned and quickly disappeared, leaving the stoic missing nin and the green-faced kunoichi alone.

She looked up and noticed a pair of cold, red eyes staring down at her. Shaking her head a bit, she slowly asked, "Where are we?"

He watched her for a moment and then said, "We are several hours away from your village, and it is too early for anyone to miss your presence."

"You've thought of everything, haven't you, Itachi?" Sakura asked, her tone dry. Before she could say another word, a strong wave of nausea hit her and she began to dry heave. After several minutes, she finally settled and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her eyes glaring over at the silent Uchiha.

He lifted an eyebrow at the sight of her angry eyes, and then asked, "Were we followed?"

"No." Kisame said, and then grinned when Sakura's angered gaze turned towards him. "What? No 'welcome back' for me, kunoichi? Careful, you might hurt my feelings."

Sakura scowled at him, and was about to snap back at him, but the urge to purge was upon her, once more, and the dry heaving began.

Itachi watched as the kunoichi finally relieved her stomach of its contents, and then turned towards his partner. "Deidara should have reported to leader, so we will need to return to base quickly." He said, and watched as his partner nodded.

Sakura finally felt slightly better and stood up on wobbly legs. "Oh, no." She snapped, her face screwed up in displeasure. "I am not going a single step more. I am going home, and the two of you can go trotting back to your little hideout all by yourselves."

Kisame looked at Itachi, and then back at Sakura. "It sounds like you believe that you have a choice." He sneered.

"Kisame, quit wasting time with the clone and get moving." Itachi said, his eyes scanning the area for Sakura's chakra.

Kisame's mouth dropped open, and then he growled. Damn it, he should have seen through it, but because the scent of her vomit was so close to the clone, he could not distinguish the fact that it was a fake through scent. But, he did have to admit, it was a very good clone.

!

She ran. She ran, fought the urge to throw up, and ran some more. She knew that she shouldn't use chakra do to the fact that Itachi would be able to spot her, and she was also aware that his partner could track her scent. Either way, she was screwed. And, the fact that she was wearing her high heels was not helping matters, either. Damn Ino and her stupid idea to go out dressed to perfection.

So, with that thought in mind, she activated her chakra, and felt the wind whip by her as she began to increase her speed. However, when the branch that she landed on snapped, she felt herself falling to the hard earth, only to be caught in a pair of arms.

Kisame shook his head as Itachi landed on his feet, before dumping the kunoichi on the ground. But, if he thought that she was going to remain on the ground, at their mercy, he was about to be pleasantly surprised.

Sakura's fists connected with the ground, causing giant cracks in the dirt, and then darted towards the larger of the two. He was so stunned by her strength that he didn't have time to draw upon his beloved samehada, and clenched his teeth as he dodged her punches.

Itachi simply stood by, watching as the girl did her best to hit Kisame. His eyes followed her motions and when it appeared that she was beginning to run out of steam, he was mildly surprised that she managed to grab onto Kisame's arm and yank him forward, snapping the bone at his shoulder.

The shark nin was not just angry. He was furious, and he was going to kill the bitch. But, without his sword arm, he would have to fight her with his weaker hand, meaning that at the moment, she had the upper hand.

"Enough." Itachi said, finally stepping in. "Kunoichi, we will not harm you."

"Want to bet?" Kisame growled and hissed in even more anger when Sakura flipped him off.

Itachi's eyes darted over to his partner and narrowed in a silent warning. When Kisame quieted down, he turned towards Sakura and said, "You will not be harmed, but you will do as you are told. Disobedience will not be tolerated and you will be punished accordingly."

"Gee, I hope that you are not planning on using your mangekyo because we all know just how effective that is on me, don't we?" Sakura snapped, not caring that her comment would anger him.

Kisame could not help it and allowed a snicker to escape his lips. His eyes quickly darted away when Itachi's eyes snapped over to him, and Sakura smirked. When his eyes finally returned to her, he quietly said, "There are worse things that I could do to you, little one. Do not forget what I am."

"No, Itachi." Sakura murmured, and watched as he stiffed. "I know what you are all too well. It's you who have forgotten who you are. I know your truth, Uchiha Itachi, and you know it, too."

"So much fire." Itachi mused and suddenly disappeared, only to reappear right behind Sakura. "One day, it is going to burn you, little one."

Kisame watched as Itachi's fingers quickly hit different points on the back of her neck and grinned when she slumped into his waiting arms.

"She's going to have one hell of a headache when she wakes up." He muttered. "Good."

!

Ino groaned and glared over at Shikamaru who muttered, "It's your fault for getting so blasted drunk, you insufferable woman."

She lifted her head and gave a short wave to Tenten, who walked in with Neji and Lee, only to be followed by Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke. When everyone was seated, Ino frowned.

"Ok, where is forehead-girl?" She said, though not too loudly. "She is supposed to be with the three of you."

Naruto frowned. Ino was right. Sakura was supposed to meet them, and he definitely wanted to speak his mind to all of the girls about getting so wasted. His poor Hinata had looked so badly when he arrived to pick her up, and he had been told that Neji had already left to go and confront Tenten about letting Hinata drink.

Sasuke looked around the small café, but then turned to glare at Ino when the blond suddenly said, "Hey, I wonder if she went home with that guy who sat beside her."

Hinata frowned and then bit her lip. She could vaguely recall the young man, but she did recall the lesson in pool that the larger of the men had taught her. Of course, when she told Neji that she could do a decent break, he had hissed at her and told her in that haughty voice of his, "Proper ladies do not shoot pool."

"What guy?" Sasuke demanded, and leaned over the table to stare Ino directly in her eyes. The blond looked slightly worried, but then smiled. "Oh, he was beautiful." She gushed, and ignored the snort from Shikamaru. "Long dark hair, beautiful eyes, and a body that was just perfect."

Everyone turned to look at Tenten, but she shrugged. "Don't look at me." She said, her large brown eyes widening in alarm. "All I remember is seeing three blobs and that the blonde blob kept babbling about art, and then kept groping my ass while we danced. I'm not sure, but I also think that someone bit me on my ass."

Neji looked very irritated while Lee simply leapt up from his seat, fire in his eyes as he clenched his fist. "I will find the villain who dared to place his hands upon our lovely Tenten. I will go and get Gai-sensei and together with Neji will we use the power of our youth to restore Tenten's honor." He bellowed, and was quickly yanked down by Neji as the other patrons of the café turned to stare at them.

Naruto shook his head and turned to Hinata. "Do you remember this man that Ino is talking about?" He asked, his tone gentle. When she shook her head, he sighed, but then perked up when she softly said, "I-I do remember his friend."

Sasuke shoved Naruto out of his way and said, "Tell me about him."

"H-he was very nice to me, b-but a bit loud." She murmured, and then smiled. "H-he didn't touch me except when he was showing me how to hold a pool stick. He also kept telling the other men who would come over to us to 'get lost'. I do know that I told him about Naruto, and he seemed really interested in the fact that Naruto and I are together."

"Anything else?" Sasuke pressed, ignoring Naruto's sharp demand that he back off.

Hinata frowned, but then smiled. "Before he left with his friend, he did call me a 'real sweetheart' and that Naruto should be thankful that he has me." She said, blushing as her eyes lowered to the table.

"Damn right I am." Naruto said, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, dragging her into him for a hug. Sasuke slumped into his seat for a moment, but then stiffened when Hinata said, "I've never seen anyone with such a skin color. I-I mean, who walks around with blue skin?"

!

"Tobi missed you, Deidara-senpai!" The younger nin exclaimed, and jumped up to follow the man down the hall. "Zetsu-senpai said that we are going to be having a visitor soon, and Tobi wants to make a good impression."

"Then keep your mouth shut and don't go near her, and your impression will be perfect, yeah." Deidara snapped, already feeling a headache coming on.

Tobi stared after the blonde man and cocked his head to the side. "How can Tobi make a good impression if Tobi doesn't talk to the lady?" He asked, curious. "Are you ashamed of Tobi, Deidara-senpai?"

"Terribly, yeah." Deidara snapped, and then slammed the door on the masked face of his new partner. He heard the younger nin walk away, and then cheerfully call out to Zetsu. Well, better the cannibal than him. If Tobi gets on his nerves too much, he could kill him, eat him, and then there would be no evidence that he ever existed. If he killed Tobi, they'd know it was him because he'd have blown the little bastard all the way to hell.

!

It was nearly night time when Sakura's eyes began to flutter open. As soon as her eyes finally focused, she bit back a scream when she noticed that a blue face was staring down at her.

"Ok, you broke and now you are going to fix it." Kisame snapped, and indicated to his shoulder. He stepped back and watched as Sakura sat up, and then began to massage her temples. "Headache?" He asked, and then grinned. "Well, get used to it, princess. Fuck up again and I'm sure that Itachi will put you down for the entire journey, now fix my damn arm."

Sakura lifted her eyebrow, and then sighed. "So, where is he?" She asked, her tone weary. When she didn't receive an answer, she glanced up to see the shark looking around. When he finally glanced down at her, he shrugged.

"He's around." He replied, and then knelt down and motioned, once more, to his shoulder. "Fuck it up any worse than it already is, I'll make what he did to you seem like a sweet dream."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura huffed and muttered, "Such a sweetheart, aren't you?"

When all she received was a snort, she sighed and studied his shoulder before delving into it with her chakra to see just how much damage was done. The bone was clearly broken, and was probably very painful for him. She smirked. Good.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but the only thing that heals these kinds of breaks is time." She replied, and bit back a laugh when he glared at her. "Don't give me that look. The best I can do for you is to ease the pain, and you are just going to have to wait for a few weeks to play with your little sword."

"I thought that medics were able to heal anything." He jeered, and growled at her when she tightened her grip on the sore appendage.

Sakura glared at him and snapped, "Then you shouldn't believe everything that you hear. For your information, bones that break need to heal naturally. Anyone else who tells you differently is full of shit and should be slaughtered for tossing around such nonsense."

"I don't believe everything I hear, princess." The shark said, and gave a sigh of relief when her chakra began to sooth the pain within his shoulder. "I heard that you were quite a beauty, but looking at you now, I can see that it was nothing more than bullshit."

Sakura gave him a saccharine smile while Inner Sakura hissed like a scalded cat. "That's ok," She replied, in her most sickening sweet tone, "I was always told that trolls didn't exist, but after seeing you, I can see that was bullshit, too."

Kisame glared at the pink haired girl, but then barked out a loud laugh. Finally, after being with his constipated partner for so long, he finally found someone he could harass. Thankfully, she wasn't going to act like some pathetic bitch in distress, and might actually provide some entertainment for him, at least for a while.

Yes, this was going to get very interesting.

!

"I know your truth, Uchiha Itachi, and you know it, too."

Her words echoed in his mind and for a moment, he allowed himself to agree with her. Yes, he knew his truth, but to actually admit it and to give it substance would be to acknowledge the fact that despite his best efforts, he was failing miserably.

Oh, he had tried so hard to let go of the guilt of his past, and yet, with this girl's reappearance in his life, the guilt was slowly building and all he knew was that he didn't know how much longer he would last until all of his past regrets finally caught up with him.

He could not fully blame Sakura for this situation. After all, it was not her fault that she had seen his most painful secrets, and she didn't appear to be eager to share those secrets with anyone from her village, but he still could not be sure that her loyalty to Sasuke would not overwhelm her and in a moment of weakness, destroy everything that he worked so hard for.

His head snapped up when he heard Kisame's loud laughter and he frowned. Kisame only laughed when he was amused or was in the middle of killing someone. Either way, he knew that he had better get back to camp and separate his partner and captive from one another.

!

Naruto and Sasuke were in the training field, their voices growing with each passing moment. They did not notice that Kakashi had arrived, nor did they notice that Sai was with him. As the two approached, they froze when they heard the conversation.

"Who else has fucking blue skin, asshole?" Naruto bellowed, his rage growing by the minute. "Both of us know that Hoshigaki Kisame is the only freak that has skin like that and now he and that lunatic you call 'brother' has Sakura-chan and you won't do a fucking thing about it."

Sasuke glared at Naruto, but then shook his head. "Look," He snapped, his own anger apparent, "We will get her back, but I am not going to miss this perfect opportunity to finally get Itachi. Whatever he wants, he is going to use Sakura, and he will need her alive. So, for the time being, she is safe."

Naruto's fists balled up and he shook his head. "That's all you care about, isn't it?" He demanded. "As long as you get Itachi, Sakura is expendable. After all that she has done for you, after all that she has been to this team, you are more than willing to sacrifice her as long as you get your precious battle."

Before he could reply, Kakashi's firm voice cut in. "Ok," He said, his tone warning both young men that he was not in the mood for games. "Let's take this from the top and I want to know everything."

!

Inner Sakura was livid. _'You know, we should have just said 'fuck the oath' and beaten his blue ass when we had the chance.'_

Sakura sighed. Despite the fact that she was really dirty, tired, and now, hungry, she could not help but agree with her counterpart. However, she always kept her word and the first thing that Tsunade-sensei had made her promise when she agreed to take her as an apprentice was that she was to help everyone in need, and lords help her, that blue thing had needed her help.

True, he had deserved what he received, but in the end, she was still obligated to help him.

When Itachi finally appeared, both Sakura and Kisame glanced up and watched as he moved towards his pack. He opened the large bag up and produced a few energy bars, and then tossed two of them to Sakura, and the other two over to Kisame.

"We will be leaving in fifteen minutes." He stated, and then began to gather up his belongings. She quickly tore into the energy bar and grimaced at its taste. But, since there were no other options, she simply had to suck it up and eat, or else risk the embarrassment of having one of them carry her when she grew too tired to move on her own.

When they began to move, she had removed her heels while Itachi made sure to remain behind Sakura, and watched as the young woman avoided his gaze. A part of him wanted to grasp her by the shoulders and shake her for seeing him as that young man she had once encountered, but then there was a smaller part of him that wanted her far away from him and the danger that he represented.

After all, he created this hell, and while it was too late to save himself, he didn't want to drag an innocent down with him.


	6. Based On A Hunch

A/N: Well, let's all clap for my poor beta. Because of certain blocks in my writing, she has had to wait paiently for me to hurry my backside up and write, but it has not been easy. Unlike me, she actually gets things done fast and had this back to me in less than 24 hours.

The tension is now beginning and will only grow as time goes on. But, who doesn't love a bit of sexual tension, right? Anyways, please read and review. I need them, I crave them, and most of all, it makes inner kogasangel happy, happy.

Enjoy!!

* * *

When they finally stopped for the night, Sakura sank down to the ground with a groan. Her feet hurt, and she knew that she was going to have to be really careful in healing them. Because she had run without footwear, the skin on her feet was sore and bleeding in some spots.

Itachi watched as Sakura fired up what little chakra she had left and began to heal herself. He placed his bedroll down before glancing over at Kisame, who was quietly muttering to himself as he unrolled his own bedding.

When Kisame looked up, Itachi gave a sharp nod over to Sakura; when he nodded, Itachi took off, leaving the shark and the tired kunoichi alone. Kisame was quiet as he watched the last bits of her chakra flicker, and then she sighed.

"Well, I'm done for," she muttered, closing her eyes wearily.

However, she soon felt hot breath against her neck, her eyes flew open and she found herself staring right at Kisame. The shark nin shoved a couple of rolls of bandages at her, snapping, "Wrap your feet in these. The blood is driving me crazy."

Sakura frowned, but then nodded in understanding. Of course the blood was driving him crazy. Blood attracted sharks, and from the way he was staring at her feet, she knew that it would be only a matter of time before he snapped.

Once her feet were wrapped, Kisame seemed to relax as he said, "Itachi went to grab some food. Make yourself comfy, Princess. It's going to be a while before he gets back."

She watched as the shark nin sat down across from her and closed his eyes. For a moment, she thought that perhaps he was going to go to sleep. But when she moved, he said, "If you are thinking about running, don't bother. My shoulder is a lot better off than your feet. And when I caught you, I'd make sure that you understood the real meaning of the word 'pain.'"

Scowling over at him, she snapped, "I wasn't going to run off. I'm trying to get comfortable, you asshole."

The shark merely snorted and quieted down. But now Sakura could not help but wonder just how long it was going to take Konoha to get moving and get her the hell out of there.

When she settled down, she allowed her eyes to close, taking in a deep breath to calm herself. As she began to relax, she could not help but worry about how Naruto was going to take the news of her abduction.

* * *

"What do you mean 'we're going to wait'?" Naruto bellowed, not caring that he was screaming at the hokage. "How can you just sit there knowing that Sakura is with that madman?"

Tsunade's eyebrows twitched, but she calmly said, "Sakura is more than capable of taking care of herself. Right now, I am more concerned about keeping you away from the Akatsuki. More than likely, they took Sakura as a way to lure you out, and that is just not going to happen."

Naruto growled loudly, but froze when Shizune opened the door. "Lady Tsunade, the message has been sent."

Tsunade nodded, and then glanced over at Naruto, who was now flanked by Kakashi and Sai. At his questioning look, she shrugged.

"It is no secret that Sakura and Gaara have formed some sort of friendship," she explained. "I sent a message to him and let him know that Sakura has been abducted. I suspect that we will see him within a day or two."

Naruto's lip curled into a sneer. Oh, he wouldn't want to be the one on the receiving end of Gaara's temper. Kankuro once told him that Gaara's selfish streak had not completely disappeared. He simply switched his focus to other things. But the fact still remained that Gaara protected what he saw as his, and Naruto knew that Gaara saw Sakura as a friend.

He almost pitied the Akatsuki. Almost, but not quite.

* * *

When Itachi returned, he found Kisame poking at a fire. Glancing around, he saw that the kunoichi was tucked into Kisame's bedding. When he turned his gaze toward the shark, the other man shrugged.

"You know, when she's asleep, I almost forget what a raving bitch she can be," he said, and then motioned towards the bags that Itachi held. "I hope one of those has our dinner in it. I'm starving."

He handed one of the bags over to his partner, and then walked over to where Sakura slept. He set the bags down beside her before moving to sit across from Kisame.

After several minutes, the shark said, "She fell asleep sitting up. I tried to get her to wake up long enough for her to unroll your bedding and get into it, but she wouldn't budge. So instead of messing with your shit, I put her in mine."

The shark looked put-out, but after a couple of minutes and a full belly, he sat back and shook his head. "So, are we heading straight for the base, or do we have to stop somewhere else?" he asked.

"We will be heading straight for the base," Itachi murmured, his eyes upon Sakura's slumbering form. "We are already behind schedule."

Kisame nodded and then looked over his shoulder at Sakura. Before he could figure out just how in the hell he was going to fit in his bedding with the blanket-hogging kunoichi, Itachi solved the problem. He stood up, unrolling his own bedding before moving over to the kunoichi and gently lifting her from Kisame's bedding.

"So, where in the hell are you going to sleep?" Kisame drawled, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively as he turned his eyes to the young woman in his partner's arms.

Itachi simply turned away, settling the kunoichi within his own bedding before turning to look at his partner. "We leave at dawn," he said, his tone holding no room for argument. Then he turned and moved to sit a few feet away from the pink-haired woman.

Kisame nodded, walked to his bedding, and frowned. Itachi had left the bags by his bedding, so he decided to see what they held. As he pulled out the contents, he noticed that his partner's eyes were upon him. He pulled out a pair of sandals, pants, and a shirt, all black in color. Since they were too small to fit Itachi, the shark could only surmise that they were for the pink-haired terror.

Snorting, he pushed the clothing back into the bags and brought them over to where the girl slept before saying, "Her feet are a mess. Even now I can smell the blood."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, a small frown creasing his lips. If the girl could not run, then they would have to carry her. He watched as Kisame scented the air once more before turning back to his bedding and quietly slipping inside.

Itachi's eyes turned back to the girl, and he took in a deep breath. He should have known that this was going to happen. Ever since that fateful day, he had been off balance, and he just could not seem to get back on track.

But with her immobile, she could not run off. At least one thing went right.

* * *

"Gaara, a message has arrived for you," Kankuro announced as he opened the door. His younger brother looked up and gave him a look that told him to hurry up and read it.

Rolling his eyes, Kankuro unrolled the scroll. He scanned the document before whistling softly through his teeth. Temari, who was also waiting to hear what the scroll said, snapped, "Out with it, idiot."

Raising his eyes from the scroll, he shook his head and calmly said, "Nope. This is something for Gaara to read." He set the scroll on the desk before calmly leaving the office, closing the door behind him, and then running like hell down the hallway.

Temari listened as her brother's frantic footsteps faded away, and then turned toward Gaara. The color drained from her face as she watched the young kazekage's eyes darken with rage, his mouth lifting in a smile that meant death for those who stood against him.

The last time he wore that smile was the day he and Uzumaki Naruto fought, when Shukaku was allowed to roam free.

Someone was going to die a horrible death, and she prayed that it wasn't her.

* * *

Sakura frowned as they continued to run through the forest. Because her feet were still in bad shape, she was now on Itachi's back, and she had been given a stern warning from both him and Kisame about trying to escape or cause harm to Itachi.

Of course, she knew that he had already scanned her with those eyes of his, seeing that she didn't have any chakra to call upon even if she wanted to escape. It happened at times; and because of the earlier fight with the shark, her escape attempt, and then her pathetic attempt to heal her feet, she was still drained.

They were quiet for several hours, and then Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She tightened her arms around Itachi's neck. He stiffened, as if waiting for her to attempt to choke him. But she simply leaned forward, her lips close to his ear so that he could hear her, before asking, "How much longer until we stop?"

His eyes closed as a small shiver raced through his body at the contact from her lips upon his ear. He shook his head to clear his mind of such unbecoming thoughts before turning his head toward her.

"We will stop within the hour," he replied, and then turned his attention back in front of him. He felt the hot rush of her breath against the skin of his neck as she settled down, laying her head upon his shoulder.

Kisame watched as the kunoichi leaned forward, hearing her question, though he missed his partner's reply. Whatever it was satisfied her, and he watched as she relaxed against Itachi's back. It was quite amusing to see his normally composed partner being the one to carry the hostage. He was the one who normally did the carrying, because when people saw him, they usually either shit their pants before passing out from fright, or they did as they were told and didn't kick up a fuss.

When they did stop, Itachi allowed the young woman to slide from his back, and then said, "We will rest for an hour and then continue." He opened his pack, handed Sakura a couple of apples, and then frowned.

"How long will it take for your chakra to replenish?" he asked, and watched Sakura shrug.

"It depends," she replied, glaring at Kisame, who was watching them with interest. "As long as I don't have to use any chakra unnecessarily, then I should have most of it, if not all, back by morning."

Itachi gave a sharp nod and then turned to Kisame. "We are about two days away from headquarters," he said, and then turned to look over at Sakura. "We cannot have her injured. Leader would be most displeased."

Snorting, Kisame asked, "Since when do you care what Leader thinks? We all know that you do things your way, and that Leader doesn't care how we get the job done, as long as it gets done."

Turning, Itachi said, "He wants to test her. He will be put out if she is not at the top of her game."

Kisame turned to look at Sakura and frowned. Arrogant as he was, Itachi was right. Leader's interest in the girl was most likely born of the fact that she shook off the mangekyo, and therefore, he would probably want to see the kunoichi and Itachi square off. But this time, he wanted to watch as the girl broke free.

Suddenly, he understood Itachi's attitude. Their leader was going to use the girl to humiliate Itachi by having her break free of the mangekyo in front of the other Akatsuki members. It would be a perfect way for the leader to show the other members that Itachi was not so powerful.

Frowning, he had to wonder if the kunoichi was aware of just how precarious her and Itachi's situation was.

* * *

_"If you fight me, you will lose," he said, and gave her a lazy grin. Sakura's head cocked to the side, and she frowned at the lack of intensity in his tone._

Standing up and finally noticing that they were standing in the training fields in Konoha, she looked back over at the young man and retorted, "Perhaps it will be you who loses."

He smiled at her, and then let loose a soft chuckle. "Perhaps," he murmured, and then walked over to her, allowing his hand to fall upon her head. "Do you remember what your sensei taught you?" he asked.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura replied, but when he shook his head, she said, "Kakashi."

She watched as he gave a short nod and she shook her head. "He taught us lots of things," she responded, her brow wrinkling in concentration.

"Look underneath the underneath," Itachi told her, and then sighed. "Under every stone lies a worm. If you find the worm, then you have found the truth of what you seek. It is a lesson that all shinobi learn."

For a few moments, they stood in silence. But then he said, "You will never have to fear my hand, no matter what I say. But there are those who would seek to use you against me, and I cannot allow them to see any sort of weakness."

"I don't understand." Sakura whispered, and then felt the air grow colder when he replied.

"You will soon enough."

* * *

They had stopped for the night, and it was clear to her that she was too comfortable in Itachi's presence. The fact that she had slept so soundly and didn't even wake up told her that she was relaxing around him, and that didn't sit well with her.

"Hey," Kisame's rough voice said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "You'd better eat up. Once we get started in the morning, we are not stopping until dusk."

"Where is he?" she asked, and frowned when the shark shrugged.

"He'll be back," Kisame said, and then leaned back against a tree as he gazed at her speculatively. "How did you break out of it? Did Itachi's little bastard of a brother teach you how to get out of it?"

Sakura barked out a rough laugh and shook her head. "Sasuke doesn't exactly like people close to him, especially me," she said, and then turned her attention to her feet. As she peeled off the bandages from her sore appendages, she said, "I don't know how I do it."

The shark watched as the girl summoned her chakra to her hands and began to heal her feet. He lifted an eyebrow when she sighed with relief and her face relaxed from its grimace. But when her chakra flickered out, he smirked.

"Guess that's it for tonight, huh, Princess?" he jeered, laughing until something hit him upside the head. Glancing down, he saw an apple lying next to him. He picked it up and glared over at her.

He allowed a vicious grin to cross his lips and cocked his arm back. He knew full well that he would not have the same power with this arm as he would with his broken arm, but he didn't care. He threw the apple at the girl, watching as it got close to her before a hand reached out and caught it.

Itachi's eyes were pure red as he calmly handed the apple back to Sakura. Looking over at Kisame, he gave a sharp nod and watched as his partner stood up. Both men shot Sakura a glance that warned her not to even think about leaving and then turned to walk towards the woods.

Suddenly, Kisame was hit from behind. When he turned around to look at Sakura, her face was a mask of pure innocence. Turning back around, Kisame heard a soft squishing sound, and looked down to find that he had stepped on the apple that Itachi had given back to Sakura.

Little bitch.

* * *

"So, they are close," the man murmured, and watched as the younger man nodded. "Surely one small kunoichi could not be so problematic that it has taken them this long to reach us. I wonder if we should send another team out to fetch them."

Pein smirked. "Itachi said that the girl received some injury to her feet, and that is what has slowed them down," he said, and then sighed. "I will enjoy seeing him fail."

"You are so eager to see Itachi fail, but what will you do if he does not?" the man asked, curious. "After all, Itachi has surprised us before, so why not again?"

Pein glanced up and was slightly taken aback when he realized that the man had moved closer. He narrowed his eyes, but calmly replied, "He will fail. That girl has already proven that she can break free. The fact that he admitted it tells me that he, too, knows that he will fail."

The man moved away from the large desk, and then sighed. "To throw off the mangekyo, she must be very strong willed," he murmured to himself. "However, I will reserve my judgment until I see with my own eyes just how strong she is. If she can beat Itachi, then perhaps we need to think about retaining her for our own agenda."

"So now you want to keep her," Pein said, and shook his head. "What if she refuses?"

The man chuckled. "Well, then we show her the error of her ways."

Pein smiled and sat back down. Perhaps this was going to be more fun than he had originally anticipated.

* * *

"So, he wasn't pleased," Kisame said, and then shook his head. "I'm not surprised. What's going to happen to the girl?"

Itachi gave a slight shrug. "That is for the leader to decide," he said, and then turned to head back toward camp. He ignored Kisame's grunt of frustration, not stopping until he stood in the middle of the camp site.

Kisame's growl vibrated throughout the forest before he snapped, "Where in the fuck did she go?"

Itachi's eyes scanned the area, and he allowed a soft sigh to escape his lips.

Kisame sniffed the air and then smirked. "Her feet are bleeding," he said and then pointed toward the west. "She went that way, and has not gotten very far."

* * *

Sighing, Sakura slid her aching feet into the cool water. She lowered her head until her forehead rested against her knees, and she could not help but wonder what her friends were doing at the moment. Poor Naruto was probably scared for her safety, and she could almost bet that he was doing everything that he could to get to her.

But knowing her sensei, it was almost a sure bet that the female hokage would hold off on a rescue attempt.

_"It's clear to me that Uchiha Itachi has become quite taken with you," Tsunade said, her honey-colored eyes staring up at her student. "I am almost certain that he will make a play for you. Should he succeed, you are to go with him without a fight. Of course, you will have to be convincing, so I would suggest that if you are injured, you should not heal yourself right away. The Akatsuki need not know that your chakra reserves run deeper than most shinobi."_

"And when he does capture me, what am I supposed to do? What if he tries to kill me?" she asked, her green eyes wide and her voice slightly high.

Tsunade laughed. "If he wanted you dead, you would not be standing here before me. No, you hold some sort of fascination for that man. Until we can figure out exactly what it is, you will have to simply handle the situation on your own for a while," she replied, standing and walking over to her student.

Smiling fondly down at Sakura, the blonde sannin said, "In every woman's life, there will be one special man with whom she forms an undeniable and unbreakable bond. When I was younger, I had thought that my special man was Dan. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the one who my heart cried for was the last person I would have ever expected."

Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Who is it?" she asked, curious.

The blonde smiled and shook her head. "It's not important. But I have a feeling that the bond that you have always wished for with Sasuke has been formed with Itachi. If it is as I suspect, then Itachi is the very last person you have to fear. Of course, this is all just a hunch."

A hunch. She was betting her life on some stupid hunch that her sensei had, and now she was stuck in the middle of the woods with an over-grown smurf and a man who was clearly more mentally screwed up than she was.

It was quiet, but when the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise and a chill raced down her spine, she knew that her little piece of serenity was coming to an end. And from the feel of the air around her, the two men who were currently closing in on her were anything but happy.

* * *

Naruto sat at the table, glaring at the floor as his listened to the man speak. He was not an idiot, as most believed. But he was loyal to a fault, and he felt that he shouldered the blame for Sakura's abduction.

Gaara had arrived even more quickly than the hokage had guessed. After handing Kakashi the small amount of money that she had lost, she explained the situation to the kazekage, who simply stared ahead as he absorbed her words.

Finally, he held up his hand for silence, and then calmly demanded to know which direction the two Akatsuki had taken. When he was given the information, he nodded and said, "They will not survive when we come face to face. They will pay for what they have done."

Tsunade silently regarded the kazekage before asking, "What exactly is your relationship with my student? It is clear to me that she is one of the few that you have allowed close, and you not coming me when all of this trouble began tells me that you care enough about her to keep her secrets."

Gaara was silent for several minutes, but then said, "She doesn't fear me. At least, she doesn't fear me anymore. She looks at me with the same eyes that she looks at Uzumaki Naruto with. She is the first person to trust me with her pain, and then she trusted me enough to know that I would do as she requested and be silent about what was going on. She was able to rest in my presence. She looks at me and sees Gaara."

"I see," Tsunade murmured, and turned her eyes towards the table. Of course Gaara would protect Sakura. She willingly came to him, and in return, he willingly gave her his protection. It was clear that the kazekage blamed himself for her capture. Had he insisted that she return with him to Suna, she would not have been captured.

"So now what?" Naruto demanded, finally tired of being silent. "You said that we are not going after her. Do you really expect us to sit around and twiddle our thumbs while Sakura deals with those two freaks by herself?"

"Uchiha Itachi will not harm her," Gaara said, his tone stoic. "He is the one who protected her in the mangekyo. It was his mind that threw her out of the sharingan. He may threaten her, but in the end, he is not able to bring her harm. Or at least, he will not harm her of his own choice."

Sasuke stood up. He glared over at the kazekage as he snapped, "He killed my entire family, yet you sit here saying that he won't harm Sakura. Why would he protect her when he wouldn't protect his own blood?"

Gaara looked up, calmly saying, "Perhaps he saw something in Sakura that he failed to see within you. Perhaps he found the strength in a little girl that was lacking in his own clan. Either way, he made his choice. Clearly, it was not you."


	7. Unfamiliar Feelings

A/N: Thanks for all of the great reviews. They really do mean a lot to me. I hope that you enjoy this newest chapter and please remember to review.

* * *

Sakura sighed for what had to be the tenth time in less than fifteen minutes. Itachi was completely aware that she was tired of being carried around, but ever since he and Kisame had found her by the small stream, he was not comfortable with allowing her any more freedom than necessary.

While her explanation of why she had sought out the stream made sense, she should have waited for them to return to camp before attempting to walk there by herself. Her feet were still a mess, even with the small healings that she did upon them, and if she was to be ready to face the leader, she should not expend more of her energy than necessary.

Kisame watched as the pink-haired woman allowed her eyes to fall shut. While he had been angry over finding that she had wandered off, he was glad that the heavy scent of her blood was gone and his poor senses could rest. Even with the bandages, he could smell the sweet aroma of her blood.

Now, as they made their way through the forest, it was clear to both him and Sakura that Itachi was not just annoyed, he was mad as hell. The stupid girl could have gotten herself hurt, or if there had been hunter nin in the forest, she could have been killed.

She softly tried to explain, but Itachi simply was not going to hear it. Instead, he quietly told her to be silent and to not speak until he spoke to her. Kisame knew what that meant. Sakura had angered Itachi so much that he did not wish to say anything in the heat of his anger. He simply needed time to calm himself down and would speak to her when he was ready.

As the kunoichi slumbered, he glanced over at Itachi and asked, "Do you need a break? I'll carry her if you want."

Itachi gave one harsh jerk of his head and Kisame fell quiet. Of course Itachi didn't want him to carry the girl. After all, he was the only person he trusted; and despite being partners for so long, he wasn't going to trust the girl with him.

That was how he had survived for so long.

The forest began to grow quiet, and Itachi suddenly came to a halt. He tilted his head slightly and then narrowed his eyes. Kisame sniffed the air and allowed a feral grin to light up his features.

"We've got company," the shark said, his tone thick with anticipation.

Itachi nodded. "From the amount of chakra, I would say that there are only five nin, but there could be others who are masking their chakra. Be careful," he warned, his eyes lowering down to Sakura's form.

Kisame nodded and watched as Itachi moved towards a large tree. After setting the girl down, both Akatsuki members waited and were suddenly surrounded by several nin. Glancing around, Itachi said, "You are not from one of the hidden villages. What do you want with us?"

One of the men, the leader from what Itachi could tell, stepped forward. "There's a price on your head, and we want it." he sneered, and then glanced behind the two Akatsuki to see Sakura, who was slowly awakening. "Well, looks like we get a bonus too. The girl is mine to deal with; the rest of you are to kill these two bastards off."

Itachi's eyes narrowed dangerously and he moved back so that his body was blocking Sakura from the eyes of the men before him. As the first two nins came flying at him, it was almost with no effort that he pulled them into his mangekyo and allowed them to experience terrors that would scar them for the rest of their lives.

Sakura watched, confused, as Itachi and Kisame fought the strange men and then frowned when she noticed that one of the men had moved closer to her. His yellow teeth and beady eyes made her want to shiver in disgust. Instead, she took in a deep breath and slowly stood up, despite the pain from her feet.

The man moved even closer, but stopped when Itachi suddenly appeared before him. "Sit down and tend to your feet," he ordered, not looking back at Sakura.

She slowly lowered herself back to the ground and watched as Kisame gleefully ripped the men surrounding him apart with his beloved sword. Even with his sword arm out of commission, he had figured out a way to use Samehada with his good arm; from the look of things, he was having a grand time.

Itachi and the leader stared at each other. For several seconds, neither man spoke. Finally, Itachi said, "It is not my wish to harm you, so you will either leave or you will die. I leave the choice in your hands."

The man barked out a harsh laugh. "Well, isn't this sweet," he sneered, and motioned towards Sakura. "I heard that you killed your entire clan, and yet, you stand here and tell me that you don't wish to hurt me. I see that the girl has made you soft. Give her to me, and we'll leave you and your friend alone."

Kisame, who had finally stopped swinging his sword, watched as Itachi's mouth formed a thin line. Oh, he knew that look too. That was the expression Itachi used when he felt that he had been disrespected. Kisame's eyes moved to where Sakura sat, and he watched as she grimaced as her chakra healed her feet.

Lifting Samehada to rest upon his uninjured shoulder, he stood back and watched as his partner dealt with the fool. It was going to be entertaining.

* * *

"And so, with the white ribbon clutched tightly, Junko turned to gaze toward the night sky and said, 'For as long as I live, I will never forget,'" Kakashi said as a tear ran down his face and into the fabric of his mask. He snapped the book shut and closed his eye. "I must say, this book is one of the best to come out of this series."

Naruto growled and snapped, "Can't you do anything else besides read that trash?" He ignored an outraged cry from Kakashi and said, "I know that Baa-chan told us that she believes that Sakura is going to be all right, but how can she be sure?"

Kakashi stood up and sighed. "If everything that the hokage said is true, then Sakura is not in any danger—at least, not from Itachi. As we speak, she is going over his entire file with a fine-tooth comb to see if there is anything in there that will help us in dealing with him," he explained. "Besides, Sakura is a very smart girl, and she will be fine."

Naruto crossed his arms and scowled. He knew Baa-chan's intuition, and knew that it sucked. Behind him, he could hear Sasuke grumbling underneath his breath and knew that the dark-haired Uchiha was angry about being denied the chance to go and look for his brother. In fact, before they left the office, Baa-chan had told them that until further notice, both he and Sasuke were confined to the village.

He watched as Kakashi took in a deep breath before closing his book and placing it into his back pocket. "Listen, Naruto," Kakashi said, his tone serious. "We need to trust in Lady Tsunade. She knows what Sakura is capable of and is already thinking of ways to get her back. Just relax and try not to get in her way."

Gritting his teeth, Naruto gave a harsh nod of his head. He knew that Sakura was a very strong kunoichi, but he'd seen Itachi fight and knew that Sakura would not stand a chance if she were to fight him. If something happened to her, he would not rest until he had Itachi's heart within his hand.

Fuck Sasuke and his revenge.

* * *

"So, Naruto is becoming a pest," Jiraiya murmured and then shrugged. "What else is new?"

Tsunade took a long drink and before saying, "I hate confining him to the village, but knowing him, he would go running after Sakura the first chance he got. I am also concerned that if he found her in a less than satisfactory condition, his control over the kyuubi might slip. No, I made the best decision."

Jiraiya nodded. He, too, knew how his student felt about the pink-haired young woman. However, he also knew that the Akatsuki would not simply capture Sakura just to use as bait for Naruto. He had heard from one of his sources that the Akatsuki were curious about the young lady, and he was fairly sure that until she satisfied their curiosity, she would be safe.

"Am I wrong, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked, her eyes saddened as she looked up at him. "Am I wrong not to go after her? The day we brought her in here to question her about breaking out of the mangekyo, I waited until everyone had left and told her about a hunch that I had regarding her situation. I think that perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut. After all, every time I have a hunch, I end up losing big."

"She is a younger version of you, Tsunade," Jiraiya replied, his voice soft. "She has all of the qualities that you have, and she has become a most formidable opponent on the battle field. You have given her a foundation of strength that she has continued to build on, and I think that this time, your hunch was right on the money. Besides, you've never let anyone beat you, and I don't think that she is going to let anyone beat her."

Tsunade took in a shaky breath and smiled. When her former teammate left her office, she allowed the smile to fade and quietly said, "Thank you, Jiraiya."

* * *

Sakura's eyes were wide as Itachi and Kisame quickly disposed of the bodies. When they were done, Itachi moved over to where she sat and quickly looked her over, his eyes moving over every inch of her skin as he searched for injuries. He gritted his teeth as he silently cursed himself and Kisame for not sensing the hidden ninja. While he was dealing with the leader of the group, Kisame had turned his back; it was at that time when the hidden nin slid from his hiding place and quickly appeared before Sakura.

However, the nin was not expecting for Sakura to fight him, and despite not being able to use her feet, Sakura proved more than enough trouble for him. But the nin neglected to keep his attention on his surroundings, and when he backed away from Sakura, he bumped into Kisame. The shark allowed a grin to cross his lips, and before the nin could utter a sound, he was dead.

Now, as Itachi's hands smoothed down her shoulders, she watched as his eyes moved back up to hers. For a moment, she thought that she saw concern. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. His hands moved to her feet and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Your feet are nearly healed," he said, his tone approving. Standing up, he glanced at his partner and said, "Scout around. If there are more nin in the vicinity, kill them. We cannot have any further distractions."

Nodding, Kisame took to the trees and was soon out of sight. When they were alone, Itachi knelt down beside her again and reached out to run his thumb across a tiny cut that was on her cheek.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Sakura nodded. "He didn't hurt me," she said as she looked straight into his eyes. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of looking away. Not now, and not anymore. Uchiha Itachi was not going to use her for his amusement.

He regarded her quietly. The fact that she did not turn her eyes from his gaze fascinated him. Of course, part of him wanted to grip her shoulders and shake her for getting them into this mess, but another part of him worried for her, knowing what was about to come.

"Do not fight me."

Sakura's eyebrows lifted. "What?"

Itachi turned his eyes towards the forest. "When we arrive at Akatsuki headquarters, do not fight me," he said, his tone neutral. "If you do, it will not help either of us."

Before she could reply to him, Kisame returned, and Itachi took that opportunity to disappear. Kisame cocked his head at his partner's sudden departure, but then looked down at the kunoichi and smirked.

"Well, now that we have some time to kill, let's talk about apples."

Sakura paled. Perhaps hitting him in the head with the apple hadn't been such a good idea after all.

* * *

Deidara snorted, watching as Tobi did his best to engage everyone in a conversation. The only two who responded to him were Zetsu and the leader. He did try to engage Konan, but the woman mainly kept to herself and would only offer him a small, polite smile.

When the orange mask turned his way, Deidara rolled his eyes and snapped, "What?"

"Tobi is so very excited, Deidara-senpai," Tobi happily gushed. "Itachi-san and Kisame-san will arrive tomorrow with the lady. Tobi will have someone else to talk to."

Deidara shrugged and turned his attention to his dinner. As long as it kept the loud-mouthed brat away from him, he could talk to the pink-haired girl all he wanted. His attention, however, was quickly upon Pein when the man stood up.

"When Itachi and Kisame arrive, you will take Haruno Sakura from them and escort her to where she will be held until the following morning," Pein said, his tone even. "Deidara, explain to her that she will be allowed to rest and recover, and will be fed. If she questions you about why she is here, you are not to answer her."

"What if she tries to escape?" Deidara asked, his blue eyes upon Pein. "She is well known for her strength, yeah."

"That will not be a problem," Zetsu said, his tone even. However, his darker side began to chuckle. "After she devours her meal, she isn't going to want to do anything other than sleep."

"So you're going to drug her, yeah," Deidara replied thoughtfully.

Pein slowly moved away from his seat and calmly said, "It is a milder version of what Itachi gave to her. The drug that she will ingest will aid her in recovering her chakra and allow her body to heal after such a long journey. After all, we want her in top shape when she comes before us."

Deidara knew what that meant. The pink-haired girl was going to be fighting for her life; should she lose, it would mean an end to their leader's fun. It was well known that he disliked Itachi and was looking for any way he could find that would knock the sharingan master off of his pedestal.

Despite everything he had done in his life, he didn't like the idea of seeing the young woman fighting for her life. But then again, this had nothing to do with him, and all he himself was trying to do was survive.

When he turned his attention back to his dinner, he found that he just wasn't hungry.

* * *

"Do you think…?"

"No."

"But if I could just…"

"No."

"Why are you being such a bastard?"

"I've got to be me."

"Can't you just compromise?"

"No."

Sakura glared at Kisame and he glared right back at her. She knew that he was just doing it to anger her, and damn him, it was working.

Kisame was currently holding the small bag of grapes, and had been taunting her with them for the last half hour. Apparently, he was getting even for the apple incident. But damn it, he had deserved what he got.

Taking a deep breath, she calmly asked, "Could I please have some grapes?"

Kisame pretended to think for a moment, but then leaned forward. "No."

He began to laugh as her face twisted into a scowl. But when his partner returned to where they were sitting, it was clear that Itachi had heard their entire conversation. The younger man moved over to his pack and silently pulled out a small bag that contained slices of oranges.

Handing them to Sakura, he turned towards Kisame. "We cannot afford any more delays," he said. "We have until tomorrow morning to return to headquarters."

Growling, Kisame shoved the grapes into his pack and said, "That means we are going to have to run all night."

Nodding, Itachi turned to look at Sakura, who was shoving an orange slice into her mouth and watching them at the same time. He moved to where she sat and said, "Be ready in ten minutes. This is the last time we will be stopping, so prepare yourself."

Sakura swallowed the orange slice and then slowly stood up. Once she had taken care of all of her needs, she allowed Itachi to arrange her on his back. When his grip on her tightened, she took in a deep breath and tightened her arms around his neck.

As the two males ran through the dark forest, Sakura allowed her eyes to close. She could not help but wonder what awaited her at the Akatsuki headquarters. From what Itachi had said earlier, it was clear that she was expected to fight him, but she really did not know why. Was it to show the other Akatsuki members her weaknesses, or was it to show them Itachi's failure to keep her subdued?

Either way, she had a feeling that life as she knew it was over, and she had better figure out a way to make sure that she came out of this ordeal alive.

* * *

He threw his pouch of kunai across the room and scowled. Here was the perfect opportunity, and it was being denied to him. All he ever wanted was to kill Itachi, and now he had a way to do so. And the fucking hokage had basically grounded him to the village.

He knew that he should be concerned over the welfare of his teammate, but this need for vengeance had been with him for too long to simply be pushed aside for anything else. He had denied himself a life of friends, of a lover, of a family, and all because he was scared that, should Itachi find out about them, he would repeat the past and wipe those he loved away once more.

Yes, he was friends with Naruto. He supposed that he was friends with Sakura also, though he did tend to keep the pink-haired woman at arm's length, due to the fact that she had once been one of his fan-girls. He just could not bring himself to allow her to become anything more to him.

At least, not yet. He could not deny that she was beautiful. It was true that she had grown into that forehead of hers, and she had filled out in places that he knew that his eyes should not stray to. But he did not need her to become a distraction. He needed all of his attention to be on Itachi.

But now Itachi's attention was on Sakura, and that did not sit well with him. It should be him, Sasuke, that Itachi was concerned with, because he was going to be the one to kill him.

It just wasn't fair.

* * *

Sakura's weary eyes opened when she felt Itachi finally come to a stop. They had been running for nearly ten hours straight, and she was sore as hell from having to ride Itachi's back. Lifting her head from his shoulder, she blinked a couple of times and then frowned. The two men were staring at a large boulder expectantly, and for the life of her, she could not figure out what in the hell they were doing.

Before she could voice her question of what was so interesting about a rock, the boulder quivered. Suddenly, it rolled to the side, and she found herself staring into a lit corridor that seemed to slope down into the earth. Kisame snickered and asked, "What's the matter, kunoichi? Were you expecting us to live in a village?"

"Actually," Sakura drawled, "I was wondering what the rock that you crawled out from underneath looked like, and now I know."

Snorting, Kisame moved forward and said, "That's right, Princess. Just keep on cracking jokes. I like my women feisty."

"Too bad all of your women are of the blow-up variety," Sakura replied, nastily.

Kisame whirled around, but froze when he heard Deidara's bark of laughter. Itachi stopped in his tracks, watching as the blonde appeared with a large grin upon his lips.

"Leader wants to see the both of you, and I am to take the kunoichi off of your hands, yeah," he said, his tone amused. "From what I've heard, Kisame and our guest could use a break from each other."

Kisame muttered underneath his breath about how he'd like to 'break' something and began to walk away, his head held high. Itachi narrowed his eyes at Deidara, but then slowly allowed Sakura to slide off his back and onto her feet. He heard her sharp intake of breath, but did not turn to acknowledge her.

"Where will you be taking her?" he asked, his tone brooking no room for arguments.

Deidara shrugged. "We've prepared a room for her, and she is to be fed. After that, I don't know, yeah," he replied. "You'd better get going. Leader is not very happy with you."

Itachi's eyes darted over to the blonde and clearly told Deidara that he couldn't care less if the leader was happy or not. Without a glance at Sakura, Itachi disappeared down the hall, leaving Sakura in the care of the explosive artist.

Sakura did her best not to wince at the pain of her feet. She looked up at the blonde who had been staring at her and huffed. "What?" she demanded irritably.

Shrugging, the blonde said, "Let's go. I don't have all day, yeah."

Soon, Sakura found herself in a large room that had a bed and a small table with a plate of chicken and rice upon it. Her stomach growled as the smell hit her senses and her companion chuckled. "You need to take a bath first. You stink."

Glaring at him, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and snapped, "Well, you're an asshole."

"Ouch," Deidara said, his right hand moving up to cover his heart. "Such hurtful words, yeah. How will I ever move on, knowing that you think I'm an asshole?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the artist's dramatic performance, but then sighed. "Look, what do you guys want with me? I barely have enough chakra to heal my feet as it is, so I can't be of any help to you or your organization," she said, her tone soft.

Deidara allowed his gaze to sweep over the girl, and he sighed. "I can't tell you, yeah," he muttered, his hands folding into his long cloak. "Just be a good girl and go take a bath. You'll find a change of clothing in the bathroom. When you're done, eat your dinner. You will feel much better once you are clean and full, yeah."

Turning, he exited the room and took a hold of the doorknob. "By the way, don't try to escape," he warned. "Zetsu has spies all over the place, and if one of them catches you, you won't like the consequences, yeah."

Once the door was closed, Deidara quickly went through the needed seals to places a sealing jutsu over the door. Before turning to walk down the hall, he listened quietly as the door to the bathroom closed and the water began to run. Nodding, he was thankful that she had not put up a fight. Then again, he supposed that she used up all of her fighting spirit with Kisame.

From what he had heard, it was clear that Kisame made himself a new friend, Deidara mused as he walked towards the entrance to the headquarters. It was certainly going to be an interesting few days with the kunoichi around.

* * *

"Explain to me why one tiny kunoichi held the two of you up for so long," Pein demanded, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Do not even think of trying to pacify me. I am not in the mood for excuses or half-truths."

Kisame glanced over at Itachi, and nodded when Itachi calmly said, "The kunoichi's feet have been damaged. Due to the harsh traveling conditions, she was not able to replenish her chakra as she thought that she would. I carried her, and we stopped only for her benefit. This is the only reason why we are so late."

Pein stared at the two nin before him before finally giving a brief nod. "Make no mistake," he said after several minutes of silence. "I am very displeased. The next time you fail to complete a mission within a specified period of time, you will both be severely punished. Dismissed."

Kisame gave a curt bow and quickly left the office, Itachi trailing after him at a more leisurely pace. When the office door closed behind them, Kisame slumped against the wall and grumbled, "I knew I should have carried her."

Itachi gave Kisame a warning glance, but then moved down the long corridor. He continued to walk until he came to a door, and then frowned. He lifted a brow when he felt the effects of the sealing jutsu, and quickly dispelled the jutsu before reaching for the doorknob.

He entered the room quietly and found Sakura in the middle of the large bed, asleep. He allowed his eyes to move over the room and saw that her chair had been tipped over, and that the glass of water had been knocked over as well.

It was clear to him that Sakura's slumber was the handy work of Zetsu, and from the look on the pink-haired woman's face, she was content. Her deep, even breaths told him that she was finally getting the rest her body needed in order to recover her charka; once she was fully rested, she could heal her feet easily.

Then it would be show time for the Akatsuki. Walking over to the chair, he silently picked it up and placed it back on its legs before quietly making his way out of the room. Just before he closed the door, his eyes moved back over to Sakura. He silently praised her for making it to the bed before Zetsu's sleeping herbs took full effect.

Once the door was closed and the sealing jutsu was back in place, he made his way to his own chambers. As he walked, he silently hoped that Sakura found peace within her dreams.

* * *

"The girl took to the herbs better than I had hoped," the man said, his tone thoughtful. "In her exhaustion, she failed to detect them and is now sound asleep."

Pein nodded and then leaned forward. "How long do you think that she will be out?" he asked, curious.

The man gave a short laugh and moved away from the wall. "The fact that she didn't even notice that I had picked her up and moved her to the bed tells me that she won't be waking up for a while. But we can look at this as an opportunity for her to be at her best when she faces Itachi."

Pein sat back in his chair and watched as the man moved to sit down before him. Pein's eyes narrowed when the man said, "The girl is certainly unusual for a ninja. Even in the short amount of time I spent with her, I could feel that there is something about her that makes her…interesting."

"Are you thinking about studying her?" Pein asked, knowing that if the man was thinking along those lines, then the girl would become a permanent fixture around the headquarters, and she would be underneath his protection. At least, until he had grown bored with her.

The man was silent for several minutes, but then said, "I will reserve my answer to your question until after I witness her skill with my own eyes. Until then, make sure she does not come to harm, Pein. I would be most displeased to find that I have been disobeyed."

There was clearly a threat hanging in the man's words, but Pein forced himself to nod, and then watched as the man stood up. Within seconds, he was alone and found himself frowning.

Haruno Sakura was becoming more of a problem, which he simply did not want to deal with. And he knew just who to blame for this mess.

Uchiha Itachi.


	8. Into The Great Wide Open

A/N: Here is the latest chapter. After all of the personal issues, computer issues, and other little things that came up, I got it done and I think that it turned out well. So, here you go. Please read and review.

* * *

It had been nearly two days since her arrival at Akatsuki headquarters and she had not awoken. Itachi had gone to her 'room' several times, each time checking to see if she were still breathing. Zetsu's plants were often known to do more damage than good, and seeing as how Sakura had not awoken, the sharingan master wondered if the grass-nin had over calculated the dose.

It was early evening when Sakura began to show signs of awakening, and he knew that Pein would be pleased. After all, it was the esteemed leader of the organization who was the most anxious to see Sakura in action. He could only hope that she would heed his words and not fight him. If she did, life as they both knew it would be over.

* * *

Sakura felt good. Never before had she felt so relaxed, nor had she felt this calm. It was as if every single muscle in her body had decided to relax, and now she felt absolutely boneless. Taking in a deep breath, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself face-to-face with a single eye staring at her through an orange mask. She reacted as she normally did.

She hit the masked freak. Hard.

The man—well, she assumed it was a man—flew backwards and hit the wall right across from her with a heavy thud. He slid down the wall and crumpled into a heap while she yanked the covers up to her chin and glared at him for all she was worth.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?" she hissed, not caring in the least that she was being loud. "Who in the hell do you think you are?"

The man slowly stood up and pointed to himself. "Tobi thinks that he is Tobi," he explained, and then cocked his head while he regarded her. "Tobi was making sure that the pretty lady didn't die in her sleep. You've been asleep for so long and Tobi was bored."

She raised an eyebrow at him, silently wondering why in the hell anyone would refer to themselves in the third person. Before she could reply, a soft cough interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to see a large form in the doorway.

"We are pleased to see that you have awoken," the large male said, his voice soft but holding a tint of darkness beneath the calm exterior. "We are most anxious to see you and Itachi spar."

The man in the orange mask didn't say a word and only stared straight at her. When the larger male turned, he called out to the masked man, "Come, Tobi. Haruno-san would probably enjoy some privacy as she cleans up. You will be able to speak at dinner."

The smaller male seemed to accept the other man's words and quickly moved to the door. Before he left the room, he turned and gave her a cheery wave, then shut the door behind him and locked it.

Letting out the breath she had been holding, Sakura shook her head as Inner Sakura muttered, _"So that's where he gets it from. They're both freaks."_

Gingerly, she climbed out of the bed, almost groaning at the pins and needles sensation that attacked her legs. Clearly she had been more exhausted than she had previously thought. Making her way to the bathroom, she found a clean towel along with a clean set of clothing waiting for her.

The larger male had said that she would be at a dinner, and she could only guess that whoever had left her the clothing had anticipated that she would be dining with them. Taking another deep breath to calm her nerves, she moved forward and started the shower. Once the water was hot enough, she shed her sleeping gown and climbed in, allowing the hot water to pour over her head, soaking her from head to foot.

She leaned against the wall of the shower and bit her lip. Who in the hell was she kidding? She was in the middle of the Akatsuki and she didn't know if she would ever see her friends again. Yes, Tsunade-sensei had said that she did not believe that Itachi would harm her, but what about the others in his special little group? They would have no qualms about killing her and using her remains for whatever psycho things they could think of.

Like capturing Naruto, for instance.

Feeling the tendrils of sadness weave around her, she quietly whispered, "Shishou, I am so scared."

* * *

"It would seem that you are about to get your battle, Pein," the man said, his tone void of emotion. "What will you do if the girl is able to defeat Itachi?"

Pein thought quietly for several minutes, but then sighed. "This girl has been nothing more than a huge problem. The Akatsuki should be out gaining more money for our ultimate goal. Instead, we have to babysit some girl simply because she managed to break the sharingan," he said, his tone tired. "I feel as if we have lost what is important in this organization."

The man moved away from the wall and sat before Pein. "Perhaps," he said thoughtfully. "However, the fact that she has gained the slug sannin's strength and medical knowledge is enough for us to put our plans on hold, at least for the time being. If we can warp her into our way of thinking, she could be a valuable tool to use against the kyuubi."

Pein's eyes narrowed. "This isn't about the kyuubi. Not anymore," he snapped. "This is all about your sick fascination with that girl. She is able to do something that has never before been done, and now you are obsessed with learning how she has achieved it."

"And you are just as obsessed with seeing Itachi fail," the man countered. "Pein, don't be such a spoilsport. Itachi is about to be fighting for his reputation, and the fact that you are sitting here arguing over this girl tells me that your loyalties have changed. A few days ago you were excited by the prospect of watching him fail, and now you lecture me about this organization's goals. Do not forget who placed you in the seat of power. I put you there and I can just as easily take you out of it."

Pein sat back in his chair. "I did not mean to offend you," he replied. "I am concerned that this girl is creating a problem within the Akatsuki, and I do not want to see all of our hard work fail because of her."

The man chuckled. "Your apology is accepted," he said. "As for our plans, it would serve you well to remember that this girl is very close to the kyuubi. Once we have her, she will give the kyuubi to us on a silver platter. I will make sure to command her loyalty. No matter what."

* * *

The knock on her door made her spin around, and her eyes narrowed when she saw who it was that had disturbed her. Of all the Akatsuki, they had to send the great blue idiot.

"Well, you're looking less hideous, Princess," Kisame jeered as his eyes traveled down her body. He looked up to see her scowl at him and smirked.

"Seeing as you are the expert in hideous, thank you," she snapped and tensed when the blue nin growled and began to move forward.

Kisame stopped a couple of feet from her and said, "Listen up Princess. You are in Akatuski territory. You are going to do as you are told, and you are not going to give me any shit. Do you understand?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she straightened to her full height, not caring that she was only a couple of inches over five feet. She placed her hands on her hips, and he knew that stance because Konan had used it a couple of times when Hidan was still around and had seriously pissed her off.

Those confrontations had never ended well for Hidan, and the fact that he now had that stance directed at him made his stomach shift uncomfortably. He knew that he was in a lot of trouble.

"You listen here, you asshole," she hissed. "First of all, I am not some weak little female that you can order around. Second, don't you ever tell me not to give you back what you dish out. Third, you're not the boss of me, and I don't have to listen to a damn thing you have to say."

Okay, so maybe that last part was childish, but there was just something about this particular male that grated on her nerves.

Kisame's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, but before he could respond to Sakura's bold statement he heard someone clear their throat. Looking up, he watched as Itachi moved silently into the room and came to a stop beside his partner.

His eyes moved over Sakura slowly. When he finished inspecting her, he quietly said, "It is time for dinner. The leader is waiting for us."

Turning, he didn't look back to see if his partner and captive were following but simply headed to the dining hall. He could hear Sakura and Kisame bickering back and forth and silently decided to never allow them to be in the same room alone. Doing so would probably result in a lot of damage and missing limbs.

As they entered the hall, Kisame said in a loud whisper, "Try not to do anything to offend anyone."

Sakura gritted her teeth. "Then perhaps you should not be facing me when I eat. I'd hate to offend the cook by puking up the dinner simply because I had to look at you."

"THAT DOES IT!" Kisame roared, reaching behind him to grab onto his sword's handle.

Before he could draw the sword, Pein stood up and said, "Control yourself Kisame. This is not how we treat our guests."

Kisame stalked away from her, and she thought that she heard him mutter 'bitch,' but she couldn't be sure. Looking over to the man who had interrupted Kisame, she thought that perhaps she shouldn't look at him either when she ate.

The man had piercings all over his face, and though he was handsome in a warped sort of way, she just could not wrap her mind around all of those piercings. They simply could not be just for appearances.

"Haruno Sakura. Please take a seat besides Deidara so that we may begin our evening meal," he said, his tone dark and velvety.

She took a deep breath and moved toward the table, knowing full well that she would not like the results if she refused. The blonde had already pushed her chair out, and when she sat down, she found herself looking into the face—or rather, mask—of the man she had hit in her room.

However, judging from the cheerful wave that he gave to her once she looked up, she could tell that he didn't hold a grudge for being hit. Once she was settled, he leaned forward and asked, "Do you like tempura? It's Tobi's favorite."

"It's ok," she said, a bit unsure.

If he caught the nervous tremor in her voice, he didn't react to it. Instead, he began to talk about all of his hobbies and that he really liked to spend time with Zetsu in the greenhouse. He made sure to tell her that he was scared of spiders and that his favorite animal was the wolf. He told her that he wanted a puppy more than anything in the world, but the leader had told him no.

She bit back a smile at the wistful tone in his voice when he told her the leader's decision. It was the same tone Naruto used when told that he wasn't going on the mission that he wanted. She could feel the sharp pang of longing in her heart.

Once Tobi exhausted everything that he wanted to talk about, Sakura noticed that everyone else seemed to be watching her for a reaction to Tobi's insane chatter, but all she could do was give the man across from her a weak smile and said, "Nice."

That earned her a satisfied nod from Tobi, and the man picked up his fork and scooped up some rice. She watched as he lifted it up to the mask and then raised the mask just high enough so that he could shovel the rice into his mouth.

As she watched him eat, the pang in her heart seemed to grow. This man was just as messy as Naruto.

Gods, she missed Konoha.

* * *

"Do we know the route that they took?" Tsunade asked, her eyes closed as she concentrated.

Two days ago, a team of her ANBU returned and reported what appeared to be the bodies of some bandits in a forest that bordered along Mist. Now she and Gaara were gathering intelligence and, with the aid of Shikamaru, were attempting to figure out the path that Itachi and Kisame took with Sakura.

The ANBU before her shook his head. "No, my lady," he replied. "However, we have found small amounts of Haruno-san's blood on some bandages that had been shoved into a small opening on the side of a rotting tree. It is our belief that Haruno-san placed them there as a marker."

Shikamaru's eyes opened and he said, "From everything that we have learned from his file, it would appear that Itachi would not hurt Sakura unless absolutely necessary. But I doubt that he was not aware of what she was doing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kankuro asked. He was still really angry at the Nara for all that went down between him, Temari, and that stupid blonde on Shikamaru's team. But it was more important to work together, and everything else could be settled later.

And matters would be settled. He'd make sure of it.

Kakashi moved away from the wall. "It means that Itachi probably allowed Sakura to place the bandages there, and then altered the route that they were taking in order to throw us off his trail. Shikamaru is right. Itachi never lets anything happen unless he wants it to happen," he explained.

"Right," Tsunade said as she opened her eyes. "Itachi, when he was with ANBU, was considered to be the best. He became captain at age thirteen and was controlling squads made up of men twice his age. His tactics were flawless and he never failed a mission. He was given so much freedom to do as he pleased. And all of that time, he had been planning on slaughtering his family."

"Yeah, about that," Shikamaru said. "In his file, it mentioned that he had been approached by Danzo-sama to work within Root, but he had turned it down. It also mentioned that Danzo-sama had tried to give him missions, but those were also turned down. It seems odd that the Uchiha would turn down such important missions, especially if they were difficult and highly dangerous."

Turning to Sai, Shikamaru quietly regarded the man. "What was your position in Root?" he asked, hoping that Sai would not refuse to answer.

All of his worries were laid to rest when Sai cocked his head to the side and calmly said, "I was an assassin. My drawings were a perfect way of killing off a target without getting too close or being seen. I took the position that Uchiha-san had turned down years before."

Tsunade frowned. "How old were you when you took over the position that was meant for Itachi?" she asked.

"I was only eleven when I made my first kill," Sai said. "I believe that I was around thirteen when I was elevated to the position."

"Thirteen!" Naruto exclaimed, his voice revealing his shock. "When we were thirteen, we were still genin. How in the hell did you get so far in your training so fast?"

Sai's face dropped into its usual blank mask. He considered Naruto's question for a moment, but then said, "I was very young when I began my training. Those in Root have no family, no friends, no past, and no future. We are simply tools meant for carrying out the missions we are given. My training started the day I first arrived at Root."

Tsunade's face grew hard. "Does this still happen?" she demanded. "Are the children taken from their families by force or do the families allow their children to be taken?"

"I cannot tell you how the children are taken. I was never a part of the group that brought the children back to Root." Sai replied. "Children are selected by other members of Root. Once Danzo-sama decides who is to be trained, the parents are given only a few moments before the children are escorted to Root. I cannot remember my parents, and I do not remember how I arrived at Root. All I remember is my brother and my training."

Tsunade glared down at her desk. She would have to look into this. Sai was clearly a victim of Danzo's madness. However, Shikamaru's earlier words made her pause. Why would Itachi refuse to work for Danzo? Could it be that Itachi had figured out what Danzo was doing and simply refused to participate? It was too much for her to handle.

Time to figure out where Shizune had hidden her bottle of sake, and to hell with everyone else.

* * *

The meal had been a quiet experience, and when she was finished, she looked up to find the man named 'Pein' staring at her. Once he saw that he had her attention, he said, "I am curious, Haruno-san, as to how you have managed to break the sharingan. Tell me, how did you do it?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," she replied, her tone even. "I have no clue as to how I do it."

"Really now," Pein purred, his voice thick with satisfaction. "Well, we will just have to figure it out. Tonight, you and Itachi will spar with each other, and we will see for ourselves if you are truly able to break free of the sharingan."

Suddenly, Sakura's stomach dropped to her feet as she understood exactly why she had been brought to Akatsuki headquarters. They wanted to see her perform against Itachi. Judging by his cryptic words about not fighting him, he knew it too.

Pein watched as Sakura paled and he nodded over at Deidara. It was time to watch Itachi fall from grace.

She was silent as the blonde pulled her to her feet and led her from the room. The other members of the Akatsuki didn't speak as they made their way to a large dojo that was clearly well-kept and well-used. When Deidara finally let go of her arm, she felt his long hair brush her arm as he quietly whispered, "Whatever you did to get out of it, you'd better do it again, yeah. If you don't, you are not going to enjoy the leader's wrath."

When he moved away, Sakura turned around to see that Itachi had moved into place across from her and that the other members of the Akatsuki were leaning against the walls of the dojo. Pein allowed a cruel smirk to cross his lips and he said, "You are fighting for your life, Haruno-san. Try to make it last longer than three minutes, hm?"

She only had enough time to glance over at Itachi before she felt him slam hard into her, effectively throwing her across the room. Kisame's loud laugh hit her ears and she silently wondered what he would do if she were to go over and yank his damn tongue out of his head.

She quickly rolled to her feet and balled up her fist. Itachi's eyes widened slightly, and when she hit the floor of the dojo, cracking the wood and sending tremors throughout the room, she used his momentary distraction to rush forward and tackle him to the ground. But before she hit him, he disappeared and reappeared behind her.

However, that was what she was expecting him to do. Before he could grab onto her, Sakura slammed her fist into the floor and then used her right leg to kick back at Itachi. When she felt her foot connect, she quickly turned to face him and froze.

Itachi had activated his sharingan, and she felt the familiar feeling of being pulled down.

Pein smirked. "It begins," he said, watching with careful eyes as Sakura and Itachi stared at each other. "Whatever will our heroine do?"

* * *

_"It's nice here, isn't it?"_

Whirling around, Sakura found herself staring at Itachi, though this Itachi didn't have the hardened lines on his face. She had long ago come to the conclusion that like herself, Itachi had another personality. But unlike hers, this personality had been shoved so far back into his subconscious that until she came along, it had remained silent.

"It is," she replied. "Where are we?"

Itachi looked around and smiled. She could not help but think that he was probably one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.

"We are in a field that I discovered when I first become a captain of ANBU. I used to come here quite a bit when I needed some time for myself," he explained, moving closer to her. "I had never known such peace until finding this place. It had been my hope to one day show Sasuke, but that never came to pass. So I wanted to show you."

Sakura looked around the field and narrowed her eyes. In the distance, she could see the hokage monument. "We are near Konoha," she murmured, and felt a pang in her heart.

He must have sensed her sadness because he moved even closer than before. "If I had my way, I would have returned you to Konoha. However, I will do what I can to protect you," he promised, but she could tell that even he did not know what the outcome would be.

For several moments, neither spoke. Finally, Itachi said, "You must trust in me, Sakura. Please, for both of our sakes."

She opened her mouth to reply, but when he embraced her, the words she wanted to say died on her lips. Never in a million years did she think that he would ever hug her, but now he was and he felt…warm.

She felt his arms tighten around her, and her brain could not form a clear reason as to why she should break away from him. It was as if all of her thoughts had been blown away and the desire to be close to him had taken their place. So she allowed her head to fall onto his shoulder and brought her own arms to wrap around his waist. Closing her eyes, Sakura could not help the sigh that escaped her lips.

* * *

Pein's mouth twisted into a sneer as he watched the two shinobi. The girl did not appear to be struggling and Itachi looked as calm and in control as ever. Damn it, perhaps it really had been a fluke when the girl broke free the first time.

He really should not have gotten his hopes up. But perhaps now his master would be willing to let go of this insane fascination with the girl and he could put her out of his misery.

* * *

_Sakura had never felt such contentment. Sure, she had been held by a man before, but she never felt this. Being held by Itachi seemed to fill a part of her heart that she felt would be lonely forever. In her wildest dreams, she never thought that she would feel such bliss._

"WAKE UP!"

Sakura heard the voice. She knew the voice. From the way Itachi had stiffened, he also knew that voice.

"WAKE UP, YOU LITTLE FOOL!"

Her eyes snapped open to find that Itachi was no longer in the field. What she did find was not what she had expected. Her eyes widened as she took in her own form standing several feet away from her.

"I'm sorry, but did you forget that we are fighting for our lives?" Inner Sakura snapped. "I know that he is cute, but if we don't get our ass moving, we are not going to be able to see if it feels as good in reality as it does in our minds."

"Where did he go?" Sakura asked.

Inner Sakura sighed and moved towards her. "I don't know and I don't care. Fight now, figure it out and fondle Itachi later," she spat and then promptly punched Sakura in the face, effectively snapping her out of the mangekyo sharingan once more.

* * *

Pein's eyes widened as he took in the sight of Sakura's body shaking violently. When her head snapped back and she fell to the floor, he allowed a smirk to cross his lips.

The girl had done it. She broke free, and now he had proof that Itachi's precious mangekyo was beatable. If he could figure out the girl's secret, he could beat Itachi and perhaps that master of his. But now that Sakura had broken free, his master would become even more insistent that the girl be taken care of so that he could study her.

He really didn't know who he felt sorry more for: himself, or the girl who would be subjected to his master's cruelty.

* * *

Itachi sighed. The girl had broken free, and this time they had an audience. He glanced up to see the leader smirking. Kisame, on the other hand, had a grimace on his face. It was clear that Kisame did not think that the girl would break free either. But she did, and now he had to deal with the consequences.

He bent forward to pick Sakura up, but was stopped when Pein said, "Itachi, you will wait for me in my office. Tobi can deliver the kunoichi to her room."

The masked nin bounced forward and quickly said, "Tobi will make sure Haruno-san gets to her room. Tobi promises." After crossing his heart, Tobi bent down and gathered Sakura in his arms. When he straightened, he glanced over at Pein, who nodded at him.

Without another word, Tobi left the dojo and silently walked down the hall. When he got to Sakura's room, he found Zetsu standing at the door. The larger man opened the door and allowed the smaller man to enter, Zetsu following. After he closed the door, he made several hand signs, nodding at Tobi when the justu creating a silence barrier took effect.

"We think that Itachi is in a lot of trouble," Zetsu murmured, his eyes watching as Tobi carefully lowered Sakura onto her bed. "Pein is quickly becoming a nuisance."

Tobi stripped Sakura of her sandals and then covered the kunoichi. He brushed her hair away from her face and then turned to look at Zetsu. "Pein believes that he is a god," he said. "It will be Pein's arrogance that leads to his downfall. However, I want you to keep an eye on Haruno-san. I don't trust Pein to follow my orders."

Zetsu's dark side chuckled. "If he makes a move toward the girl, should we eliminate him?" he asked.

Tobi cocked his head and thought for a moment. "I want you to make sure that not even a hair on her head is touched. Pein, if he does attempt to harm her, will be brought to me for judgment," he said, his voice low and hard.

"No one defies Uchiha Madara and lives to tell the tale."

* * *

"What are you doing out here, Gaara?" Temari asked, her voice soft. Ever since they arrived in Konoha, her little brother had been even quieter than usual.

Gaara's eyes turned toward his sister, but then returned to look at the stars. "I should have ordered her to return to Suna with me," he said. "I could have made her come with me, and if I had, she would be safe. Instead, she is with Akatsuki and it is my fault. I should have listened to my instincts."

Temari's eyes widened. "Gaara, you don't really believe that, do you?" She asked. "There was no way in hell that you could have forced Sakura to come with us. And, knowing Sakura the way that I do, she would not want you blaming yourself. Okay, so we were wrong about the Akatsuki not coming after her, but now that it has happened, we make plans to get her back. Come on, Tsunade-sama is going over teams that will set out to bring Sakura home. Jiraiya-sama seems to believe that Itachi and his partner have gone into Rain."

Gaara gave a slight nod and stood up. He followed Temari and soon found himself sitting beside Naruto, who appeared to have the same feelings of guilt and regret that he did. It was an odd feeling. Never before had he felt regret; at least, not regret for a decision that he made. Back when Shukaku reigned over him, he knew that the deaths of people who stood before him were not his victims, but he did feel something for those who met their deaths through Shukaku.

However, this feeling that surrounded him whenever he thought of Sakura made him feel things that he was not used to feeling. In a way, he could look at this as another learning experience.

He already learned one important lesson: he would never allow one that he called friend to be taken from him. He would get Sakura back, and he would make those who took her from her home and placed her into danger pay with their lives. He would make the terror that Shukaku caused seem like a sweet dream by the time he was finished.


	9. At the devil's mercy

A/N: Geez, I hope you guys know that this chapter has given me a lot of trouble. I'm glad that the holidays are over and for now, I seem to be back on track. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and next chapter we will have more Itachi/Sakura and Kisame vs. Sakura. Please read and review.

* * *

Sakura winced as she tried to sit up. She heard the deep chuckle from her opponent and glared over at him before making a valiant effort to stand. However, her knees had a different idea and she found herself sinking back to the floor.

Pein watched with careful eyes as the girl before him attempted to stand. He had decided since the match with Itachi that he would personally spar with her and see if she could protect herself from him. However, where her abilities were not up to his level, her determination was that of a true champion. He knew that hell would freeze over before she admitted defeat to him.

When he entered her room, he had only planned to test her skills, but as they fought, he found himself hitting her with full force, thus knocking her back several times. Now, as she tried to get up from his latest hit, his eyes narrowed. This girl could not be allowed to remain within the Akatsuki. She was too much of a risk and even though his master insisted on keeping her, Pein knew that this girl would bring about the destruction of the organization. He would end this.

"Where is your fire, kunoichi?" he taunted, his eyes locked onto her crumpled form. "You can beat Itachi, but it seems that I am too much for you. Perhaps you are not as strong as people think you are."

He moved back into an attack stance, but stopped when Sakura gritted out, "If you had not drained me of chakra, I'd beat your ass into the floor. You got what you wanted, so why in the hell am I still here?"

Pein cocked his head to the side. "Why, indeed." He straightened and walked across the room to stand beside Sakura. "I imagine that you thought that once you defeated Itachi we would let you go. However, it has occurred to us that having such a strong defense to the sharingan might prove useful in our battle against Konoha. After all, they have the copy ninja and Itachi's little brother on their side. Having you around would even the score," he explained.

He watched as her eyes grew wide at his last statement and she gritted out, "I would never help you hurt Konoha. When he gets motivated enough, Naruto is a force to be reckoned with. I'll enjoy seeing you beg for mercy when he decides that he's had enough of your bullshit."

A cruel smile formed on Pein's mouth. "Perhaps. However, there are ways of making one bend to my will. But for now, I'm enjoying seeing just how far I can take you until you break. Tell me, kunoichi. Which limb would you miss more, your arm or leg?"

Before she could reply or even defend herself, Pein lifted up his leg and delivered a hard kick to her left thigh. She could almost hear the bone breaking underneath the vicious force.

Pein's mouth drew into a thin line when he heard Sakura's sharp intake of breath and mentally congratulated her on not crying out. Crying out was a sign of weakness, and for her to take the punishment he doled out and still attempt to fight caused him to rethink his plan. However, he would need just a little more time.

"Pein."

Turning, Pein found Konan, Zetsu, and Tobi standing at the doorway. Konan's eyes were wide as she took in the scene before her. Never before had she seen such brutality come from her long-time companion. Normally he got whatever information he needed, and then killed the person off without torturing them. He never cared to drag out the inevitable.

Zetsu moved forward and calmly said, "You are needed in your office. We will clean up in here."

Pein's eyes narrowed as Tobi bounced forward and moved over to Sakura's side. He looked up to find Pein glaring down at him and then said, "Tobi will take good care of her. Tobi is a good boy!"

Turning on his heel, Pein stormed out of the dojo with Konan hot on his heels. Damn! A few more minutes and he would have incapacitated the girl completely. He could already imagine what was waiting for him inside of his office.

Tobi carefully lifted Sakura into his arm and looked over at Zetsu. Once he was sure that he had a firm grip on her and that he was not further aggravating her injuries, Tobi walked out of the dojo and headed straight for her room.

Once inside, Tobi knew that Zetsu was already making the signs for the sound barrier. Once it was up, he quickly set Sakura down onto her bed and sighed. "Tobi is sorry, but Tobi is going to have to clean you up," he said, moving to grab hold of the zipper that kept her top closed.

Sakura hissed at him and jerked away, but immediately regretted it when pain flared all over her body. Frustrated tears began to slide down her cheeks, and she stiffened when Tobi reached over and wrapped his arms around her.

"Tobi understands," he murmured, and then nodded over at Zetsu, who allowed one of his vines to form and wrap around the bed. Sakura gasped when one of the thorns embedded itself into the back of her neck. Within seconds, her eyes slid closed, and she was finally free of the pain from her injuries.

Tobi carefully laid her back onto the bed and began to pull off her sandals. "Explain to me why Pein decided to spar with her?" he demanded, his tone sharp and dripping with malice.

Zetsu had seen this man angry on several occasions, but now he sounded personally offended. It was as if Pein had delivered a personal attack on him and the man wanted answers. "We can only assume that Pein is jealous of the attention that is being shown toward the kunoichi. After all, he was here first but you have never shown this kind of interest in him. Perhaps he was attempting to see how far he could go before you would interfere."

"Hn," Tobi muttered, and then turned back to the task of undressing Sakura. As each layer was peeled away, his disgust grew. "He was attempting to cripple her," he snapped when his eyes fell upon her thigh. "This is inexcusable. I clearly remember telling you to watch him."

Zetsu nodded. "We did. We came and retrieved you, did we not?" he replied.

Shaking his head, Tobi stripped the remaining garments off of Sakura and then covered her so that only the necessary areas of her body were exposed. He went into the bathroom and came out with a basin of warm water and a washcloth.

He was about to start cleaning Sakura's injuries, but stiffened and hissed, "Withdraw the barrier."

Zetsu nodded and a moment later, a soft knock was heard. He opened the door to find Itachi and Kisame on the other side. Both men looked haggard, but Itachi's tired eyes quickly sharpened when he took in the sight of Sakura unconscious and clearly nude with Tobi standing over her with a washcloth.

Moving forward, Itachi narrowed his eyes at the masked man and then looked back at Sakura, who was clearly injured. "What happened?" he asked, and though his tone remained soft, it was clear that he was angered.

Kisame wisely stepped away.

"Sakura-chan and Pein-sama sparred and she got hurt," Tobi replied in a rush. "Tobi is going to clean her and then dress her wounds."

Tobi moved forward, but was stopped by Itachi. "Leave. I will take care of her wounds." He took the cloth from Tobi's hands.

Tobi looked from Itachi to Zetsu and then back to Itachi. Before he could argue, Zetsu called, "Tobi, we must go to the greenhouse. There are a few plants that we need to prune."

Tobi gave a happy yip and quickly followed the larger man. "Bye-bye!" he called, closing the door behind him.

Kisame shook his head. "That kid is seriously fucked up," he muttered. He moved to the other side of the bed, whistling softly when he got a good look at the shape Sakura was in. "Damn, what in the hell did she do to deserve this?" he asked, and then growled. "Well, this isn't fair. He tells me that I can't beat her ass, but he goes and does it and I'm not even here to see it."

Itachi's eyes shifted up to his partner and watched as Kisame held out his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay," he said. "Seriously though, what in the hell was he thinking?"

Itachi took in a deep breath and stripped off his cloak before dipping the soft cloth into the warm water. This was going to take some time.

* * *

"What in the hell were you thinking?" he gritted out and delivered a strong blow to Pein's gut. "I warned you to keep your hands off of her, and instead, you go and attempt to cripple her. Tell me, what should I do to repay you for your thoughtlessness?"

Pein staggered for a moment, but then stood to his full height and wiped his arm across his face. He glanced down to find a large amount of blood before looking up at his master. He calmly said, "I wasn't trying to cripple her. I was attempting to see just how far we can push her until she breaks. You've stated before that you want her with us, and like the rest of them, she has to be put though the tests to see just whom she would be best working with. I would never go against your word."

Madara sneered at the man before him. "Do you take me for a fool?" he asked menacingly. "You are attempting to thwart my efforts to mold the girl into my own creation. If she is out of the way, my attention is returned to you. However, you have seemingly forgotten that this girl is under my protection. If you wish to remain in the arms of power, do not defy me again."

Turning, he moved to the door, but before sliding his mask back into place, he turned and said, "When she awakens, you will apologize for your inappropriate behavior."

Leaving Pein no time to argue, he opened the door and allowed his 'Tobi' persona to overtake his movements. Bouncing past Konan and Deidara, he waved merrily at them before disappearing down the hall and toward the greenhouse. Once inside, he dropped the act and stared at Zetsu, who had come over to greet him.

"The next time he lays a hand on her, you are to kill him."

* * *

Itachi's eyes were drawn to the large bruise that was forming on Sakura's thigh. He watched as Kisame slid his large hand underneath her calf and gently lifted her leg so that Itachi could examine the wound closer. "It's broken," he stated, matter-of-factly.

He gave a sharp nod and then motioned for Kisame to lower her leg. "Are you able to pick up any chakra from her?" he asked, though with his sharingan, he already knew the answer. Pein had clearly used a chakra draining technique on her, and because of it, she would not be able to repair the damage.

"Nope," Kisame said. "Samehada says she doesn't even have a spark of chakra within her. It's such a shame too. Her chakra is quite tasty."

Not bothering to reply to his partner, Itachi quickly bandaged the other wounds, but made a mental note that Sakura would be basically helpless until her chakra returned. He felt his stomach tighten as he realized that his aura was flaring angrily, causing Kisame to back away and eye him warily.

"Geez, calm down," Kisame growled. "You know, ever since we took her, you haven't been acting like yourself. What in the hell has gotten into you?"

Itachi turned and calmly said, "She is an obligation. Nothing more, nothing less. We were told to bring her here safely and we have done that."

"And you will be the ones to watch over her as she recovers."

Itachi and Kisame turned to look at the owner of the voice. Pein stood in the doorway and he looked less than pleased. He walked over to the side of the bed and quietly assessed the thigh that he had kicked.

Taking in a deep breath, he looked up to find Itachi staring at him, the sharingan active and bright. Kisame was glaring down at the floor. It was clear that neither man was happy to hear that they were to play babysitter for the kunoichi.

"Until she is healed and can be assigned to a partner, the two of you will be taking care of her. Give her whatever she desires, but do not allow her out of the base. I don't need her attempting to run back to Konoha, especially since she now knows that she is going to be instrumental in Konoha's downfall," he said, turning to walk back to the door.

"What did she do to bring this upon herself?" Itachi asked, his tone quiet.

Pein was not fooled. Perhaps the shark and the others were fooled, but not him. It was clear that Itachi was unhappy with the girl's injuries and was now searching for any answer he could find that would give him the upper hand. But Pein wasn't about to give up his advantage.

"She has received the same initiation that the rest of you received," Pein replied. "That is all you need to know. However, should I find that she is uncomfortable while under your care, I will be most displeased and what I did to her will seem like a sweet dream compared to what I do to the two of you."

With that promise, Pein left the room. He allowed a smirk to form on his lips, but it quickly died when he saw Konan appear around the corner and softly ask, "What are you doing, Pein?"

* * *

She knew that he was up to something. Sneaky little bastard always ignored her whenever she wanted answers, and damn it, it was not going to work this time. Following the man, she gritted out, "Why is it that I can never get a straight answer from you? Every single time you learn something new, you hide it away and don't bother telling me until it is too late. Don't do this, especially not now. We have too much riding on this for you to be keeping secrets."

Jiraiya stopped walking and quietly asked, "Do you trust me, Tsunade?"

Tsunade's eyes widened, but she softly replied, "I trust you with my life."

"Then let me do what I need to do in order to help your apprentice," he said. "I recently gained some information from an informant that leads me to believe that I know at least one of the people who are responsible for the Atkatsuki. Until I am sure, please continue to believe in me and let me do what I need to do."

Tsunade watched as he walked away and sighed. It was times like these that she desperately wished Orochimaru had not walked down that dark path. It seemed that after his parents had died, Orochimaru became obsessed with death and how to beat it. But before he had turned, he had been the one to think things through and make logical decisions.

Now he was gone, and it seemed to her as if Jiraiya was walking away from her and she didn't know how to catch up to him. He was taking on most of the responsibility and she was here waiting for something to happen. It's not enough that she had organized a search party, nor was it enough that she had been the one to go over Itachi's file and find some very disturbing evidence.

It was as if he knew that something bad was going to happen and wanted to do all that he could before it came. She lost her little brother and survived. She lost Dan and survived.

If she lost Jiraiya, she didn't know if she would survive. She had told Sakura that there had been another besides Dan whom her heart called for. The day she realized that it was Jiraiya was the day she finally felt whole.

She loved him.

* * *

The room was quiet. The two occupants sat across from each other and waited for the other to speak. Finally, she said, "You are crossing too many boundaries. If you are not careful, he will kill you."

Pein sat back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. "Do you think that he has the strength to kill me?" he asked. "You and I both know that he is surviving on borrowed time. He may have the power of the sharingan, but he is growing weaker as time goes by. One day, he will not be stronger than me. And on that day, I will rip those eyes of his out of his head."

Konan shook her head. "You sound so confidant. But according to you, he has abilities that we will never have access to. I think that he is clever enough to put on an act that is enough to deceive even you," she murmured.

Pein allowed his eyes to soften as he gazed over at his long-time companion. She was the heart and soul of their group when they were younger. Now that it was just the two of them, she was his light in the darkness. She was also his conscience in times when he would judge too harshly. Her opinion mattered the most to him.

"You may be right," he conceded. "However, no man is immortal, myself included. He believes himself to be immortal because he has the ability to switch bodies whenever it suits him. He knows that Itachi is no longer a suitable candidate due to the fact that Itachi's eyes have been pushed to their limits. The younger Uchiha brother, though, is a different story. His eyes are still in perfect working order. It was due to his sharingan that the boy managed to escape and kill Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru also had a body switch technique," Konan said, though she wasn't completely sure. Pein never allowed her to get too close to the snake. He didn't trust the man, and it had obviously been for good reasons. Orochimaru and Itachi had been assigned as partners, but Itachi had exposed Orochimaru as a traitor and it was then found out that he desired Itachi's eyes. He left empty-handed.

Pein's mouth formed a tight line. "It was from the master that Orochimaru had copied the technique, but he didn't copy it correctly. I suspect that the master knew what the snake was up to and altered his technique to throw Orochimaru off track. As a result, Orochimaru only had a certain amount of time before he had to find a new host. It really is a disgusting technique."

Konan allowed a small smile. Out of everyone within the compound, she was the only one who could speak freely to him without the fear of repercussions. Her smile melted away and she softly asked, "Please don't anger him again. I can't lose you as well."

Pein stood up. He walked over to where she sat and knelt down beside her. Taking her hand in his, he said, "I will do all in my power to make sure that there is not a repeat of what happened earlier. However, this girl is going to become very problematic for this organization. I don't believe that he will be able to turn her from Konoha."

"If you truly believe that, why not just return her to Konoha?" Konan asked, rising to her feet. "You and I both hold true to what we believed when we were younger. It was you, me, and Yahiko. We vowed that we would protect our home and protect those who were weaker than us. We would take down our enemies and prove to them that we needn't kill in order to persevere. If this girl stays, can you honestly say that she won't meet harm? Despite the fact that she is from an enemy village, could you handle the guilt that her death would bring? Regardless of what people think, you are not a madman. Not even you would allow an innocent person, enemy or friend, to die unless it was unavoidable. Please, just let her return to Konoha and let's figure out a way to get rid of your master. "

Pein rose to his feet and walked to the window. "Returning her to Konoha would serve no other purpose than to anger him. However, he has informed me that I am to make sure that she is comfortable while in the compound. Therefore, I have placed her back into Itachi's care," he stated as he stared out over the village hidden in the rain.

Konan slowly nodded. She should have expected something like this from him. Pein could not help the girl himself. He had tried by incapacitating her to a point where she would be useless to this 'master' of his. But by placing her back in Itachi's care, he was basically creating a barrier between the girl and the danger this 'master' presented.

Itachi would never allow the girl to be harmed. In his own way, Pein had attempted to save the girl himself. But now he could sit back and watch as Itachi defended the girl, and his hands would be clean.

He really was too brilliant. But from what he had told her, his master was more so.

This situation did not bode well for them. Any of them.

* * *

"You said that he won't hurt her, but can you be sure?" Naruto asked, his tone soft. He looked over at his companion and winced at the pained expression on the man's normally stoic face.

Gaara allowed his eyes to close, and when he opened them, he said, "Regardless of what their reasons were for taking her, in the end, their main reason will be for you to come after her. The Akatsuki know that you will do almost anything for her, and count on the fact that you will come after her. They will want to confront you on their terms. As for the Uchiha, I do believe that Sakura will not come to harm in his presence. He has been alone with her once before. She was not harmed then, and I believe he won't harm her now."

Naruto took in a deep, calming breath. "I'm scared for her. Despite some of her more violent tendencies, Sakura is the type of person who will find compassion within herself for those she deems worthy. If she feels that Itachi is deserving of that compassion, she will protect him, even from me and Sasuke. I know that we have shielded her from a lot of situations that would have given her experience dealing with this kind of stuff, but I think that we may have crippled her when it comes to making sound judgments on who is worthy to receive her compassion and who isn't," he said.

Gaara nodded. He too could understand Naruto's concern. To him, though she was physically strong, Sakura had a really bad habit of placing faith in those who would twist it around and use it against her. Uchiha Sasuke was a prime example. The young man thought only of himself. If the chance presented itself, there was no doubt in Gaara's mind that the younger Uchiha would use Sakura as a way of getting to his brother. In his mind, revenge took priority and everything else could go to hell.

"We will get her back, and she will be safe," Gaara replied.

Naruto allowed a small smile to form upon his lips. He sure hoped his friend was right. His heart could not take it if one of his most precious people was ripped away and he didn't at least try to save her.


	10. Undeniable Truths

_A/N: This chapter was by far the hardest to write. I seem to be saying that about all of the chapters, but because this is the start of the turning point in the relationship between Itachi and Sakura, I had to think long and hard about what would work best for them. So, I came up with this. The obession that Madara has towards Sakura is not of a potential lover, but rather his sick curiosity of what strength he can cull from her in order to please his blood-lust. Well, we'll just have to wait and see what he does next, won't we? _

_Anyways, big round of applause for my beta, Prinnybubbles. She keeps me straight. And, remember to read and review. I really like them. Thanks!!_

* * *

_"I tried to warn you, but now you see the madness that is Akatsuki."_

_Sakura turned and found herself facing Itachi. He was wearing his ANBU uniform and he looked as though he had just returned from a mission. His mouth was slightly turned up, and for a moment, she allowed herself to get lost in the dark warmth of his eyes._

_Itachi moved closer and lifted his hand until it cradled her chin. "It will only get worse from this point on," he warned, stroking the soft skin of her cheek with his fingers. "I am not certain that I can protect you against his mangekyo. I will do what I can, but I cannot be certain that my protection will be enough."_

_Sakura frowned. "Who are you talking about?" she asked._

_Itachi shook his head. "You will soon see for yourself."_

_

* * *

_

Itachi watched as Sakura's eyes slowly opened, her face twisting into a grimace of pain. He'd been with her for the past two days, watching over her and caring for her. This was the first time she had awakened without him having to gently shake her several times.

When her eyes fully opened, she turned her head and looked up at him. For a moment, he allowed himself to return her gaze, clenching his teeth as the familiar warmth within his chest ignited. This girl was quickly becoming a weakness for him, and he knew that if he wanted to keep his life the way it was, he would have to do something about her.

He watched as she attempted to sit up. When she fell back against her pillows, he knew that she had exhausted her already weakened strength. Moving forward, Itachi reached for the pitcher of water beside her bed and poured her a glass. Handing it to her, he calmly said, "Drink slowly. You have been asleep for two days and will need to start your recovery."

Sakura reached for the glass but could barely hold it becasue her hand was shaking so badly. Paling, she knew what this meant—her chakra had still not returned, and she could only assume that Pein's chakra-draining technique was still active.

Itachi took the glass from her and sat down beside her. Without a word, he brought it to her lips and watched as she took tiny sips of water. Her eyes closed as she took in the water, and he watched as her eyelashes gently brushed over the tops of her cheeks.

This really was unbecoming of him. To notice such a trivial detail told him that he needed some time away from the young woman. When she finally drained the glass, he stood up and set the glass back down on the table by the pitcher.

"Kisame will arrive shortly. You are to remain in bed," he informed her.

Snorting, Sakura grimaced as a flare of pain hit her senses and then snapped, "Where in the hell could I go?"

Itachi refused to reply. Instead, he simply walked to the door and quietly murmured, "Whatever you did to anger the leader, I suggest that you refrain from doing it again. Next time, he might kill you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sakura hissed, watching as the older Uchiha left the room. Once the door shut, she closed her eyes and bit her lip as tears began to form. Everything hurt and she was too damn powerless to do anything about it.

One thing was for sure: once she regained her chakra, she would be more vigilant around this leader, and when he didn't suspect anything from her, she would knock his block off.

Lying back against the pillows, Sakura stared at the ceiling and felt the familiar tendrils of sleep circle around her mind. At least in sleep she could forget her pain.

* * *

Madara and Zetsu were carefully moving plants around in the greenhouse when Pein arrived. The masked man looked up and straightened before looking over at Zetsu and nodding. When the familiar barrier fell over them, a hard voice snapped, "Speak."

Pein bowed. "The kunoichi has awoken, though only long enough to drink a glass of water," he reported. "Itachi has left the compound and she is being cared for by Kisame."

"Do you think that is a wise decision?" Zetsu's calmer half asked. "After all, it is well known that Kisame and the young lady cannot stand each other."

The dark half, adding his input, hissed, "They could wind up killing each other."

Madara straightened to his full height and replied, "I don't believe that Kisame will actually harm her. He seems to get more enjoyment out of irritating her."

Pein gave a sharp nod. "Kisame is fully aware of the consequences should the girl be harmed. He will not risk my anger," he stated, his tone flat.

Walking towards Pein, Madara calmly said, "And you will not risk mine. Let me be very clear that I am still very angry with you, Pein. Tell me, just how important is Konan to you?"

Pein stiffened. "Konan has nothing to do with this," he said.

Underneath the mask, Madara smirked. "Oh, but she does. I've decided to ensure your complete cooperation with Sakura's well-being," he purred as he circled Pein. "You see, if Sakura comes to any harm, what I do to Konan will make what you did to Sakura seem like a sweet dream. Do not fail me in this task, Pein. I've been very lenient with you, but I will not accept failure in this. Do we understand each other? Remember, it is Konan's well-being that is at stake here."

Pein gave a sharp nod and turned to leave. At the door, he glared over his shoulder at Zetsu. When he felt the barrier fall, he left the greenhouse and was out of their sight.

Madara turned to Zetsu. "Speaking of Sakura, I have heard that she is still in pain. Perhaps you could assist in helping to relieve the pain," he said. He nodded with approval when Zetsu's calmer side murmured that he would deliver the medicine before dinner.

Turning, Madara's eyes narrowed in the direction that Pein had taken. Now that the man knew his female companion was in jeopardy, he would take every action to ensure Sakura's well-being.

* * *

Sakura's eyes slowly opened to find Kisame sitting beside her, his nose stuffed into a very familiar orange book.

His pale eyes shifted over to her when he sensed her movement. "Well, well," he drawled. "Let me be the first to tell you that you look like shit when you first wake up, Princess."

"Considering what I am waking up to, I'm not surprised." she snapped and immediately regretted it when pain flared in her leg.

Kisame snorted and looked back at the book. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered.

She winced as she tried to shift her position from lyi ng to sitting, but yelped when the pain shot up from her leg and into her back. She gasped when she felt a warm hand on her back and scowled when Kisame muttered, "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

Before she could reply, the door to her room opened and she was stunned to see Zetsu enter. The large man allowed his gaze to travel over her and then narrow upon Kisame, whose hand was still on her naked back. He watched as Kisame propped her up against the pillows and calmly said, "I have been asked to bring you something to help ease the pain. You will have to eat before taking it, but once it enters your system the pain will lessen considerably."

Sakura slowly nodded, watching as both men exchanged pointed glances. Zetsu set the medicine vial down onto the table beside the bed and then turned to leave. When he got to the door, Zetsu turned and said, "Kisame, you are expected in a meeting in one hour. Haruno-san's dinner will be brought to her shortly and you are to make sure that she has taken the medication. You will report her status to me when you arrive."

Kisame snorted, but nodded. Together, he and Sakura watched the Akatsuki spy close the door and then they looked at each other. With a loud grunt, Kisame flung himself back into the chair he had been sitting in and proceeded to scowl at the floor.

The silence finally became too much for her, so Sakura quietly asked, "Where is Itachi?"

Clenching his jaw, the shark shrugged. "Probably out somewhere trying to figure out how to get out of this mess that you got us all into," he snapped, his playful tone gone. "You know, he tried to warn you not to fight him, but you just had to go and prove that you can overcome his sharingan. Now we are up to our eyeballs in trouble and have to take care of you because you are too stupid to keep your fucking mouth shut."

When Kisame finished his rant, Sakura looked down at her hands and sighed. "I didn't approach your leader, and I sure as hell didn't do or say anything to deserve what he did to me," she replied. "After the fight with Itachi, he simply showed up and said that he wanted to spar with me. Once we got into the dojo, I felt as if I had been drained of all my energy and then he attacked me. As for not fighting Itachi, well, I don't really have a say in that. Call it a defense mechanism, but it was not intentional—at least, not on my part."

Taking a deep, calming breath, Kisame turned his eyes to the younger woman and asked, "What exactly did you see that first time when Itachi placed you into the mangekyo? Why in the hell was he so rattled that he walked away from you without drawing blood?"

Sakura turned her eyes to her folded hands and took her own deep breath. "I saw something that he had been trying to forget. I suppose that some memories are best left undisturbed."

"Indeed," Itachi said, allowing his eyes to narrow at the pair before him as he stood in the doorway to Sakura's room. "And those memories will stay between us, Sakura."

The kunoichi bit her lip and looked away from the narrowed glare. Kisame, however, was not intimidated. Standing up, he was about to demand an explanation from his partner, but the presence of someone else at the door made him pause.

Itachi stepped aside to allow the woman who worked in the kitchens to pass by with a plate of food. He watched as the woman placed the plate onto a tray that she had brought with her, setting it across Sakura's lap. Once assured that Sakura had everything that she needed, the woman left, and Itachi closed the door behind her.

Finally, Kisame growled, "Okay, I've dealt with the secrets for long enough. We are partners, and damn it, I deserve to know what in the hell is going on."

Itachi turned his head towards his partner but didn't bother to respond. Sakura, however, decided to enlighten the shark with what she knew. Personally, she never cared for secrets either, and since meeting Itachi in battle, she'd been forced to carry this dirty little secret for long enough.

"Itachi didn't murder his clan. He took the blame in order to prevent his little brother from going after the one responsible," she said, her tone weary.

Kisame allowed a soft whistle to escape his lips as he glanced over at his partner. The fact that Itachi wasn't denying it spoke volumes. But it didn't escape his notice that Itachi wasn't upset that Sakura had spilled the beans.

Judging from the clenched jaw and matching fist, Itachi was way past upset—Itachi was downright furious.

The Uchiha did not utter a sound. Instead, he turned on his heel, opened the door, and strolled from the room while Kisame stared at his back.

Sakura, however, didn't bother to watch him leave. She quietly ate the meal that had been provided and then softly asked Kisame to hand her the medicine that Zetsu had left for her. As the shark watched, she drank the contents of the small vial, grimaced, and then handed the vial back to him before allowing him to remove the tray.

He let everything that he had just discovered run through his mind, before softly murmuring, "Do not tell anyone else what you have told me. Because we are partners, I have the right to know in order to protect my own ass. For everyone else, including the leader, it is none of their fucking business."

Sakura gave him a weary smile and slowly nodded. She didn't fight him when he helped her to lie back down, nor did she acknowledge his departure. As the medicine began to work and the pain began to fade, she allowed a tired smile to cross her lips. Finally, the words she had wanted to speak were now out there and Itachi could no longer deny them. Let him deal with the consequences now. She was tired of doing it all by herself.

* * *

"Did she take the medicine?" Zetsu asked upon seeing Kisame enter the room.

Kisame took a good look around and found that everyone was sitting at the table, including Itachi, who had an empty space beside him.

"Yep." Kisame grinned. "She filled her belly, drank it down, and nodded off pretty quickly. If you ask me, I say we keep her unconscious. This way, we don't have to hear her bitching."

Zetsu murmured quietly to Tobi, who bounced in his seat excitedly. But when Pein stood up, silence loomed in the room and the leader began to speak.

For nearly an hour, Pein spoke about upcoming missions and how Sakura would be integrated into Akatsuki. Finally, the meeting was adjourned and Kisame quickly followed his partner out of the room and down the dark hallway.

Catching up with the younger man, the shark calmly said, "It's not just you who carries this burden. You can't expect her to keep your secret, especially if it is haunting her. She doesn't hold any loyalties to you or to this organization. We've both heard her cry out in her sleep, and I've heard her mention your name and another name. If you want someone to be pissed at, you can be pissed at me for harassing her about it. Personally, I don't care. I've never kept secrets from you, especially if it could potentially harm us or a mission, and I expect the same courtesy."

He didn't even give his partner a chance to respond. Itachi stopped walking and watched Kisame disappear down the hallway. Itachi stood frozen for a moment before moving down the hall, and didn't stop until he was in front of Sakura's door.

He reached out to grasp the doorknob, but froze when he heard her cry and call out for him. Leaning his forehead against the door, he debated as to whether or not he should go in. Finally, he took a deep breath and entered the room to find Tobi sitting next to her. The younger man had pulled a chair close to the bed and only turned his head when Itachi cleared his throat.

Jumping up, Tobi quickly said, "Tobi wasn't hurting her. Tobi just wanted to come and sit with Sakura-chan. Tobi is a good boy."

"Leave, " Itachi ordered and moved forward until he was next to the masked man. He watched as Tobi's shoulders slumped and he gave a saddened sigh. Without another word, Tobi moved to the door and paused to glance over his shoulder before exiting the room, softly closing the door behind him.

As he walked down the hall, the slumped shoulders straightened and his steps became brisk and hurried. He made his way to the large office where he knew Pein was. Without knocking, he entered and sneered, "I think that our dear Itachi is beginning to have feelings for our guest." He shuddered at the word 'feelings.'

Pein sat back in his chair and calmly asked, "What did you expect? After all, according to you, they share a history, and now she is possibly being protected by his subconscious. It was bound to happen."

Madara made a gagging sound and then proceeded to walk over to the chair that was in front of the desk. Sitting down, he said, "You're awfully calm about this. But then again, you have the same kind of feelings for your own partner, so it shouldn't be such a big surprise that you'd not see this as a problem."

"You keep mentioning my relationship with Konan," Pein said. "However, I don't believe that you really care one way or the other about the possible relationships that can form between partners. We have always said that personal objectives can be obtained only if the missions of Akatsuki are not harmed. Itachi has performed to expectation and beyond so I do not see this as a problem."

Madara sighed heavily. "Of course you don't," he muttered. "However, should this little development between Itachi and Sakura cause me problems, I will not hesitate to correct this issue. Also, I've decided that when she is healed, she is to be partnered with Deidara. I grow tired of his threats to kill me and his babbling about art. Perhaps Sakura would be so kind as to rid me of that fool once and for all."

"She is a Leaf shinobi," Pein returned. "She does not have it within her to simply kill someone because they get on her nerves. Konoha is all about peace, justice, and protecting the ones you care for. She won't kill him, no matter how annoying he becomes."

Madara stood up and watched as Pein stood and gave him a respectful bow. "I've been informed that her chakra has not returned," Madara stated, turning to look the younger man in the eye. "Reverse your jutsu, Pein. My precious time is wasting and I am eager to play with her."

Pein bowed his head in acceptance and calmly said, "It will be done immediately. But it is best if she regains her chakra naturally. Within the next two days, she will regain her chakra and can start mending her wounds."

"Hn," Madara replied and slipped into the shadows and out of Pein's sight.

When he was alone, a smirk formed on Pein's lips. His master's downfall was close at hand, and he would make sure that he was close enough to watch the ancient man fall.

~!~

He sat through her agonized whimpers and knew that his demons were plaguing her, just as they had plagued him for so many years. But he had not realized that it was this bad for her. Her words rang in his ears, and he knew that something h ad to be done in order for both of them to escape this hellish prison. The question was what could he do?

He supposed that sitting down and finally telling her the entire story would help ease the burden. All of her questions would be answered, but once the truth was out, would she look at her beloved Konoha the same?

All Leaf shinobi were brought up to believe that Konoha stood up for justice and would not tolerate any sort of injustice. But not all of Konoha's citizens felt that way. Those three elders were the ones who had started all of this. He'd already turned Danzo's offer down, and had even told the other two elders that he would never participate in the killing of his own clan, even for the sake of avoiding war. The third hokage had stood beside him and praised him for his decision. But then Madara came, and the decision was ripped from his hands. Thankfully, the third hokage believe him, and had even suspected that Madara was still alive. It seemed that the first hokage knew more about the forbidden techniques of the sharingan than even his own clan and had informed the second and third about the possibilities of immortality.

Now he was faced with his past and an innocent victim was thrust into his lap, and he didn't know what to do with either one. One thing was for sure: he needed to figure out a way to handle the situation before it grew into something that neither he nor Sakura could handle.

Sakura's agonized sobs hit his ears and he silently moved from his seat beside the bed to sit on the bed with her. He had long ago removed his cloak and sandals in order to be comfortable and now, as he sat beside her with his hand stroking back her bangs, he allowed himself a moment to trace her features with his eyes.

She was a striking young woman. He had known when he first saw her as a child that she would turn out to be beautiful, but she had exceeded his expectations. He had been shocked to see just how strong both physically and mentally she had become, and he was… pleased. The shy violet turned out to be a flower who demanded attention.

He was brought out of his musings when Sakura turned slightly and moved her head so that it was resting on his left thigh. The action stunned him, but only for a moment. He contemplated moving her back to her pillow, but when he heard her sigh and finally quiet down, he allowed his hand to rest on the top of her head. It was as though she was taking comfort in his presence.

Leaning back, he fought to remember when the last time someone felt safe in his presence was, and the memory of when Sasuke was a baby came to his mind. Sasuke was always toddling after him once he could walk. He could remember that when it came to a choice between walking to him or to their mother, Sasuke would always walk to him and expect for his big brother to pick him up.

He had forgotten these memories. He had tried to bury them along with his family, but thinking of them now didn't cause his stomach to rebel. No, this time the memories made his body warm, and for the first time in many years, the corner of his mouth lifted just a bit and he allowed himself to relax.

Closing his eyes, he could hear Sasuke's baby voice calling for him and it made the sadness that lived within him less vivid.

_"'Tachi!'"_


	11. Shifting of Emotion

A/N: It would seem that the writers block is over, so let's milk it all for what its worth, shall we. Please enjoy and remember to read and review.

* * *

He stared at his reflection in the lake for several moments before throwing the rock that he held tightly in his hand. His reflection disappeared, but his unease remained. It was nearly two months since his heart's sister had been taken by his enemy and now, he was not sure if she was ever going to return to him.

After all, Akatsuki never kept a prisoner alive this long, and despite how strong she was or that Itachi-bastard might not hurt her; he knew that the other freaks in that organization held no such qualms. In fact, he had already run several scenarios across his mind about what that weird shark-man could do to his precious Sakura and there was nothing he could do to help her.

In the two months that she had been gone, Tsunade baa-chan had made several teams for gathering intelligence on the Akatsuki and so far, none of them had returned with any sort of new information. That was why baa-chan had decided to let his ero-sennin leave for the village hidden in the rain in hopes of finding the information they so badly needed.

He knew that there was always a possibility that one of his precious ones would be killed in battle, but Sakura was a different story. While he had given up on her returning his love, he had settled into another kind of relationship with her that was even more fulfilling than if she had agreed to be his girl. Now, he did love his Hinata, but knowing that his Sakura was out there with the enemy made his blood run cold. He would not rest until she was back by his side.

With that thought, Naruto turned and began to make his way to the training ground. He needed to be in top form when he finally went and collected his sister from those bastards.

* * *

"Sasuke is becoming a problem." Tsunade announced, her honey-colored eyes narrowing at the man before her. "I want you to keep him busy."

Kakashi nodded and calmly asked, "Has there been any further word about Sakura?"

Tsunade sighed and sat back in her chair. "No." She replied flatly. "As you know, Jiraiya has gone to rain in an attempt to discover more about the Akatsuki. Apparently, the last time we were in rain as a team, he had taken to a group of kids whom he felt that he needed to care for, at least until they could defend themselves. He is going to try and find one of those kids to see if they know anything about the Akatsuki. For our sakes, as well as Sakura's, I hope that he is successful."

* * *

A knock upon his door caught his attention. When it opened, his narrowed eyes softened and be beckoned her to enter. As she moved, he noticed that her lips were pressed into a thin line and he wondered what could have caused her such annoyance.

Before he could ask what had vexed her so, she said, "Our former master has returned to rain. Apparently, he is sniffing out information regarding us and Itachi's female. Should I intercept him?"

He sat back and folded his hands in his lap. So, Jiraiya-sensei had returned. His newest master would not be pleased if the toad sage managed to discover his true identity or the location of the base.

"Go to him, but do not fight him, Konan." He ordered, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I will be watching and will step in should the situation become aggressive."

She bowed and turned. However, before she could open the door, she felt him wrap his hand around her wrist and then allowed his other hand to cup her chin and move it so that she were looking up into his eyes.

"Do not take any unnecessary chances with him." Pein warned. "He may be our former master, but now, he is our enemy and we will not give him the chance to discover what we are planning. Do you understand?"

She nodded and watched as a small smile crossed his lips. He bent forward and allowed his lips to brush across the soft skin of her forehead before stepping back and allowing her to leave his office. When she was gone, he turned and walked to the huge window that overlooked the village in the rain.

"Now, Jiraiya-sensei, let us see which is stronger: the master or the pupil."

* * *

She cried out and clutched her side as the man before her grinned. It had been nearly a month since she was able to fully heal herself from Pein's attack and now, the other Akatsuki had been ordered to get her into fighting shape.

"Is that all you got, yeah?" Deidara purred as his grin widened. He watched as she moved into a defensive position and when he attacked, she completely changed her stance and disappeared before his eyes. Before he could raise his defense, she appeared behind him and allowed her kunai to rest at the skin of his throat before bringing her soft lips to his ear. "For you, it's enough." She whispered, the heat from her breath causing a shiver to run down his spine. He could feel her leg tightening around his and knew how they looked to the others. Sakura was coiled around him like a python and he just knew that in a few moments, Kisame would probably make some sort of crude comment about it, especially since her calf had encircled his thigh and was holding his leg tightly. Any movement and his groin would come into contact with her calf, and that would probably cause him quite a few more problems.

Kisame chuckled as he held up his hand and called out, "That's enough." He glanced over at his partner to find Itachi's eyes narrowed upon the intimate way Sakura's and Deidara's bodies were pressed together.

Sighing, Kisame motioned for Sakura to let Deidara go and when she did, the blonde man quickly straightened up and righted his clothing; however, when he glanced up and saw Itachi's eyes narrowed upon him, he knew that the sharingan user had seen just how much the pink-haired girl had affected him.

Taking a deep breath, he looked over his shoulder and watched as Sakura put away her kunai. She wasn't the most beautiful of women, but she did hold something about her that caught a man's attention. It could be a combination of her looks and spirit, but the fact that she managed to capture the Uchiha's attention told him that she was a diamond in the rough.

It also told him that she was not on the market and should any other male try, they would find themselves at the end of the Uchiha's kunai at the very least. Either that or they would be subjected to the mangekyo, and after experiencing it once, he was pretty sure that he never wanted to experience it again.

Kisame moved over to where Sakura was and leered down at her. "Well, at least you didn't make a fool out yourself, princess." He jeered. However, his smirk was wiped off his face when she turned to look at him and snapped, "Well, at least I didn't trip over my own feet, fall flat on my ass, only to hear a sharp rip when my bottom hit the ground. By the way, I thought the little fish on your boxers were very cute and a little disturbing."

He clenched his jaw and was about to tell her just where she could take her opinion, but Itachi came up beside him and quietly said, "You have done well. Deidara will escort you back to your room so that you may clean up before the evening meal."

Nodding, she glanced over at Kisame, who was still fuming over her comment and winked saucily at him. His growl vibrated over the training field as Deidara quickly led Sakura out of their sight. Once she was gone, Kisame tilted his head back and allowed a vicious howl escape his throat.

When he finally quieted down, Itachi calmly asked, "Do you feel better?"

"I'd feel a lot better if the leader would let me kick her ass." Kisame grumbled and then sighed. "I don't get it. Why doesn't he just let her go? We don't need her fucking up our plans, yet he is insistent on keeping the little pain in the ass around."

"He is going to use her against Konoha." Itachi murmured as he closed his eyes. "In fact, I believe that the reason why he keeps having her train with Deidara is so that she will be comfortable enough with him to be his partner."

Kisame whistled. "Are you okay with that?" He asked, his tone lowering. "I know that you watch over her, so are you going to be okay with her working with Deidara?"

"It does not matter if I am comfortable with Sakura being partnered to Deidara." Itachi replied, his eyes opening and narrowing as he stared at the entrance of the base. "The decision has been made and I will abide by it."

Kisame watched as his partner walked towards the entrance. Taking in a deep breath, he followed the younger man and wondered if he wanted to be around when Itachi finally dropped his aloof facade and started to act on his obvious desire for the girl. While others may be fooled by Itachi's indifferent attitude, he was not. Scent never lied and it was clear in Itachi's scent that he wanted the girl. The only question was: Did he want her to sate his lust or did he want her for keeps?

Either way, any other male who got between them would probably wish for a quick death.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she walked out of the bathroom and over to the bed. Dressing quickly, she left the room and made her way to the dining hall, where she knew everyone else would be seated. Ever since she healed her injuries, she was made aware that she was being watched and that if she should step out of line, Pein would make her last injuries seem like a sweet dream.

Remembering that last beating kept her well-behaved. However, she was constantly looking around, looking for anything she could use against the Akatsuki. But, to her great disappointment, she had not come across anything that would give her leverage against the organization.

When she entered the dining hall, she noticed that everyone, with the exceptions of Zetsu and Konan, were present. Once she sat down beside Deidara, Pein motioned for everyone to begin eating. The first thing that she noticed was that Tobi kept looking up at her and when her eyes met his, he gave her a friendly wave and said, "Zetsu has requested that Tobi look after his greenhouse and Tobi was wondering if you would like to help Tobi?"

Taking in a deep breath, Sakura gave a little nod. Anything she could do to avoid returning to that room would be a blessing. Tobi gave a satisfied nod and returned to his dinner and she could not help but smile. The mess that he made when eating put Naruto's mess to shame.

Itachi noticed that Sakura's bright eyes dulled as she watched Tobi. He knew that she was probably thinking of Konoha and he knew that with every day that passed, a small part of her crumbled away into the darkness.

He had only felt regret a couple of times in his life and he could honestly say that removing her from her home was now included in those times. But, he had to face facts. He could do nothing to change the current situation and he could only hope that for her sake, Sakura continued to prove herself worthy of the leader's attentions.

* * *

"Tobi likes it in here." Tobi said cheerfully. He and Sakura had spent nearly an hour going over Zetsu's greenhouse and watered all of the plants within. Once the plants had been watered, Sakura sat down on a bench and sighed. Tobi joined her moments later.

Nodding, Sakura replied, "It is quite pretty here."

Tobi turned his masked face towards her and said, "Zetsu-san worked very hard on this greenhouse. It is where he conducts most of his experiments with poisons."

"Is Zetsu aware that you are telling me all of this?" Sakura asked. It seemed odd to her that any shinobi, even a very friendly one such as Tobi, would tell his comrade's secrets to an enemy. Tobi, however, appeared unfazed.

"Tobi is only speaking the truth." He murmured happily. "It was Zetsu-san who said that Tobi could invite you to help him." He watched as Sakura inclined her head in acceptance and then looked away. He noticed that her shoulders were relaxed and he tilted his head towards her.

"You miss Konoha." He stated, his tone matter-of-fact. "Tobi can't remember his real home, but Tobi has found that this home makes him happy."

Taking in a deep breath, Sakura quietly replied, "You want to be here, Tobi, but I don't. I don't belong here and I can't help Akatsuki destroy Konoha. I am not a traitor nor am I going to simply roll over and do what I am told. If your leader thinks that he is going to dictate what I am and am not going to do, well, I suppose that I'd better be ready for another beating."

She felt Tobi's hand cover hers and noticed that his hand was considerably larger. "Tobi would never let anyone hurt you, Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed. "If leader-sama wants to hit somebody, he can hit Tobi. No one should be made to do something that they don't want to do and if you don't want to attack Konoha, then don't do it."

Despite herself, Sakura grinned and then shook her head. It was clear to her that this young man didn't know just how vicious his leader could be. However, it was still nice that he was offering to protect her. For the first time since being brought to this cold, damp place, she felt as though she had a friend. A weird, childish, and slightly unnerving friend.

* * *

When Tobi left her at the door to her room, she watched as the young man bounced down the halls as he whistled a merry tune. Shaking her head, she opened the door to her room and found Itachi sitting in the chair beside her bed. He glanced up from the book he had been reading and tilted his head in her direction.

"I believe that you and I are long over-due for a discussion." He murmured and motioned for her to close the door. "You deserve to know what really happed on that night and I am going to give you the answers."

Sakura stared at him for a moment and then slowly made her way to the chair that was sitting across from him. She watched as he moved his chair so that he could rest his elbows on the small table and waited for her to get comfortable. When she was finally settled, his red eyes faded and she found herself staring into the darkest eyes she had ever seen.

When she was settled, he laced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them. At first, he was quiet and then he softly said, "What I am going to tell you is going to require you to be open-minded. As a medic, you are taught that there are certain limitations that a person's body can take. What I am going to tell you is going to rip apart everything that you have been taught and ask that you have faith in what I tell you."

When she silently nodded, he took in a deep breath and calmly said, "I am going to tell you about a man from the Uchiha clan who defied the laws of death. His name was Uchiha Madara and he was the ultimate reason for my clan's destruction."

* * *

Tobi entered his room and allowed his posture to straighten. He calmly strolled over to his bed and sat down upon it and removed his sandals. He thought back to the conversation he had with Sakura and began to snicker.

How easy it will be to bend her to his will. He would gain her trust and when he felt that she was completely vulnerable to him, he would use her to destroy those who had defied him. Then, he would be able to see the youngest Uchiha's strength for himself. He would put Sakura up against Sasuke and finally see if the boy's rage would be enough to satisfy his blood-thirsty desires. And, the best part of all would be to see Itachi's greatest failure come to fruition.

Itachi would fail in his endeavor to protect his little brother from him and he would take great delight in rubbing Itachi's nose in that fact right before he killed him.

* * *

Kisame and Deidara were sitting across from each other. Both men were silent and finally, Deidara sighed and placed his cards on the table. "I'm out." He declared and watched as the larger man grin before reaching out and sliding the chips towards his pile.

Several seconds went by and Deidara finally decided to ask what he had been wondering for a long time. "The Uchiha wants the medic, doesn't he?" He asked. "He is always watching her and glared at me earlier, yeah."

"That's because the two of you were too close." Kisame replied and started to shuffle the cards again. "It doesn't help that she had her leg wrapped around you nor did it help that you popped wood because of it."

Deidara's face reddened and he took in a deep breath. It wasn't his fault, damn it! Glaring over at the shark, Deidara snapped, "If he is so into her, why doesn't he go after her then, yeah?"

"He won't." Kisame replied as he began to deal out the cards. "Itachi won't get close to her because he doesn't need any kind of distractions. His main priority is to this organization and he can't allow himself the luxury of any kind of relationship, especially with a female whom invokes these kinds of reactions out of him."

Deidara snorted and slumped in his seat. He picked up his set of cards and casually said, "You know that they are going to be putting her with me, yeah."

Kisame looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I know." He said.

"I have to wonder what the Uchiha would do if he thought that me and my new partner will be sharing close quarters all alone, yeah." Deidara said, smirking.

"Let me give you some friendly advice." Kisame murmured as he leaned forward in his chair. "When she is trusted enough to leave with you, keep it in your pants and keep her from harm. Otherwise, you'll have to deal with Itachi again and unlike the pink nightmare, you don't have the ability to escape from the mangekyo."

Deidara cringed at the mention of Itachi's favorite technique, but then smiled. "Wouldn't you be interested to see just how far he would go for her?" He asked and watched as the shark's eyes widened a bit. "I mean, if he is this protective now, what will he be like if he saw Sakura and I getting closer, yeah."

Kisame snorted. "Do as you like." He muttered, his eyes trained on his cards. "But, don't come crying to me when Itachi rips out your intestines and uses them as a jump rope."

Deidara grinned. Finally, a way to pay Itachi back for forcing him to join Akatsuki had arrived. He watched as Kisame discarded the cards he didn't want and did the same to his own hand. When Kisame dealt the new cards and both men put in their chips. Finally, Kisame smirked and laid down his hand and Deidara groaned. This was just not his day.

* * *

Jiraiya stood in the middle of the village and looked around. He knew that he was being followed and decided to make his way to the edge of the village, just in case the one following him decided to engage him in a fight.

Once he felt that he was far enough away from the civilians, he turned and found himself looking at a young woman. He would have known her even if she didn't have that paper flower in her hair.

"Konan." He called and watched as she slowly looked him over. "I'm surprised to see you wearing Akatsuki colors, but then again, I suppose anything is possible, isn't it?" He asked.

Konan tilted her head a bit and replied, "It was foolish of you to come here, sensei. Why have you come into our territory?"

Jiraiya looked around and narrowed his eyes. "Where is Yahiko and Nagato? I would have thought that they would have come with you." He asked.

"They are here." She replied and allowed her papers to form two massive wings upon her back. "I am the messenger of God, sensei. He does not want you here and you are being granted this one opportunity to leave with your life."

"A messenger of God, eh?" He repeated, his hand coming up to rub his chin. "And, who is this God that you are referring to?"

"That would be me, sensei." A masculine voice replied and when Jiraiya looked up, he found himself looking at six men who all had the same eyes as Nagato. Standing in the middle was Yahiko and Jiraiya's eyes widened.

"Yahiko, what have you done with Nagato? Why do you have his eyes?" Jiraiya demanded.

The man with Yahiko's face stepped forward and said, "I remember someone by the name of Yahiko, but that person is no longer alive. What you see is the extension of my power, sensei."

Turning to Konan, Pein said, "Go back to the base. He has clearly made his choice and I will be the one to teach him the error of his decision."

Konan slowly nodded and allowed her paper wings to surround her. Within seconds she was gone and the two men stared at each other, both sizing the other up. Finally, Pein allowed a grim smile to cross his lips.

"This has been a long time in coming. Now, let us see if you are powerful enough to defeat a god." He said.


	12. Itachi's Truth

A/N: Here is the latest of Kiss. Thank you so much for reading and I hope that this fic continues to entertain you.

* * *

Sakura could not sleep. After training with Deidara and then hearing about what had truly happened to the Uchiha clan, she felt heartsickened for Itachi and a deep anger at the elders of Konoha. She could still hear his soft words echoing through her mind and she wondered just how long he had planned to keep this knowledge to himself.

_"When a shinobi is given orders, it is expected that the orders will be followed and the mission successfully carried out. Failure is not an option." Itachi murmured and allowed his eyes to lock onto Sakura's. "I am fully aware of the image that Konoha has carefully built and should the truth of the matter be revealed, that image will shatter and Konoha will be exposed for the two-faced entity that it really is."_

_Sakura took in a sharp breath. There was no way in hell she was going to sit there and let him speak so poorly of her village. He must have seen the anger in her eyes and quietly held up his hand to silence her. "The truth of the matter, Sakura, is that I was ordered by the elder counsel to murder my clan. No one was to be spared and I was to leave Konoha without being apprehended. However, when the chance presented itself, I was unable to carry out the order. I could not bring myself to murder my little brother, thus I effectively created a problem for the elder council. Before I left the village, I went to the third hokage and told him everything, including what I had done and he allowed me to leave the village. Before I left, I held a promise from him that he would ensure that Sasuke would not be harmed. _

_"Why?" She asked, "Why would the elders order you to do such a terrible thing?"_

_Itachi cocked his head to the side and considered her question for a moment. Finally, he said, "My father and the elders of our clan had decided that it was time for the Uchiha to gain their rightful place within Konoha's council. However, because of the fight between Uchiha Madara and the first hokage, the Uchiha lost many rights and those who were in power did not wish to see the Uchiha ascend within the governing council. The elders believed that the Uchiha were nothing more than dogs meant to follow their orders and when my father became defiant, the elders began to plot."_

_Taking a deep breath, Sakura asked, "Why didn't you go after Madara that night? Why did you leave without claiming your innocence? After all, you are not the one who killed the clan. It was Madara!"_

_He shook his head. "You were only granted a small glimpse into my memories." He explained. "What you did not see is that I actually did murder some of my clan members. My aunt and uncle were the first to feel my blade. After that, I took out several cousins who lived on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound. However, when I returned to the main house, I was fully intent on killing my parents, but Madara had beat me to it. I found him standing over their bodies and watched as he pulled his sword out of my father's back. You see, Sakura, I was a good shinobi. I did what I was told to do. But, when I found Madara standing over my parents with a look of satisfaction on his face, I knew that he had murdered my parents for his own sick pleasure. It was after Sasuke found me and had chased me outside did I realize that Madara had taken the lives of the other Uchiha. After I fled the village, I allowed myself one night of weakness. I allowed myself to feel regret. But, there was one comfort that I could hold on to. Sasuke was alive and had been given a purpose. For me, that was all that mattered. But, it was later that I began to wonder if Madara had planned this all along. I grew suspicious that he might have an ally within the elder council and finally decided to move against the Uchiha. After all, it would be like killing two birds with one stone: Madara gaining his revenge on the Uchiha for turning its back to him, and for the council to be rid of the annoyance that the Uchiha represented."_

_"What you gave to Sasuke was nothing more than years of anger, vengeance, and pain." She snapped, her green eyes flashing in anger. "I watched as Sasuke tore himself apart just to become strong enough to kill you. I watched as he grew so desperate that he decided to leave the village and train with Orochimaru. I watched as he withdrew himself from everyone around him just so he could match your coldness. You didn't do him any favors, Itachi. If anything, you did him more harm. I look at you and because I have seen inside your head, I know that you are not a violent man. I know that you are far more gentle than people give you credit for. But, I also know that for all of your intelligence, you have made a grave mistake when it comes to how you handled this situation. There are times I have to wonder if Sasuke would have been better off dead because he certainly isn't living, not when his life is focused on revenge."_

_He sat through her words and to her surprise, he didn't get angry. Instead, he nodded his head in agreement. "You are correct." He conceded. "I have made many errors regarding this situation. However, I do not have the ability or the time to correct them. I never wanted Sasuke to follow Orochimaru. To take that path would be an easy way to power. I wanted Sasuke to gain power by his own hard work. As Uchiha, it is taught at an early age that we must work hard to achieve our highest potential. Sasuke has as of yet to reach his potential; however, I reached my highest potential years ago and am now simply waiting to see how long it takes Sasuke to reach his."_

_Sakura sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, at the rate he is going, you are going to waiting forever." She muttered. "Even now all he cares about is his vengeance. I think that if he ever does get around to being able to fight you, he will never be at your level. His anger clouds his judgment." _

_Itachi allowed a small smirk to cross his lips. "One day, his anger will fade." He promised. "Until then, do not take offense to his words or behavior."_

_"You talk as though I am going to get to see him again." Sakura snapped, her weariness from her earlier sparring with Deidara was beginning to show. "From the way your leader has been acting, I doubt that I'm ever going to see Konoha again."_

_Neither of them spoke after her statement and when she began to yawn, Itachi calmly stood up and reached for his cloak. "Tomorrow, you will come with myself and Kisame to the village. You are in need of new clothing and the leader has ordered that you receive it along with any other items that you may need." He murmured and began to walk towards the door. _

_She turned around in her chair and watched as he opened the door and when he was outside of her room, he reached in, grabbed the door knob, and looked over at her. In the dim light that came from the lamp beside her bed, she could not help but notice that when he wasn't acting aggressive or had that irritating smirk across his lips, he was actually a very handsome man. But, what drew her attention the most was the way he walked. It was as if he was born with a natural grace that a dancer would be envious of. _

_"Pleasant dreams, Sakura."_

_When the door closed, her eyes widened and she could not help the small smile that crossed her lips._

_"Goodnight, Itachi."_

Sighing, Sakura allowed herself to turn on her side and frowned. Sleep was still avoiding her and she wondered if she would get any sleep, especially after what she had learned from Itachi. While she was grateful to have been given a glimpse into what had caused the Uchiha massacre, she was unsettled by the knowledge that elders of Konoha could have ordered such a thing.

The third hokage fought hard to keep the peace within the village, so when Itachi had gone to him and told him who had issued the order to slaughter the clan, why didn't the third hokage order their arrests?

Frowning, she struggled to remember what Shishou had once told her about the relationship between the elder counsel and the hokage.

_"When Konoha was established, it became clear that the hokage needed help to govern the village. After all, the hokage cannot be everywhere at once. Having a counsel that can be trusted is very valuable." Tsunade said. __"But now it seems that the counsel has become quite eager to enforce its own beliefs upon the village and as a result, they will constantly question every single decision I make."_

_Sakura sighed. "Why don't you just get rid of them? You are the hokage and can do whatever you want." She stated._

_Reaching for the glass that contained her beloved sake, Tsunade shook her head. "It isn't that simple, Sakura." She explained. "Yes, I could tell them that I no longer have need for their services; however, there are clans within this village who believe that having the elder counsel is very beneficial to the village. Basically, it is the elder counsel who keeps the hokage in line, or so they think. The funny part of all of this is that the elder counsel had tried to force their will upon the fourth hokage and as a result, he threw them out of the office and forbid them from returning. When he died, the third hokage reclaimed the title and made sure to inform the counsel that he would be doing things his way and that while he would listen to their advice, he was not to be expected to follow it. It was a pretty amusing conversation."_

_"I thought that the third hokage respected the counsel." Sakura murmured as she watched her shishou take a long drink from the glass. _

_Nodding, Tsunade replied, "There was a time when he valued their opinions, but their relationship went sour sometime after the Uchiha massacre. It got so bad that the third hokage refused to be alone with any of them and ordered an ANBU operative to serve as his personal guard. Would you care to guess who the ANBU was?"_

_Thinking for a moment, Sakura finally shook her head no. Tsunade threw her head back and laughed. "The ANBU that was chosen uses a very special ability that the first hokage was well known for. The third hokage chose the same man that I chose to lead your team to retrieve the Uchiha." She explained and watched as Sakura's eyes widened in surprise._

_"Yamato was the perfect choice for a guard." Tsunade murmured. "He protected the third hokage up until the day when Orochimaru attacked. Before the chuunin exams were to begin, the third sent Yamato home because it was clear that he was exhausted. Another shinobi accompanied the third hokage to the exams and the rest is history."_

_"So, the third caught onto the elders' games and decided that he wasn't going to play?" Sakura asked and then smiled. "So, are you going to follow in his footsteps and tell them to fuck off?"_

_Tsunade chuckled. "I would, but we are at a point in rebuilding this village and I cannot risk an uprising. So, I'll just have to bear with them until that blonde knuckle-head brother of yours decides to prove that he is mature enough for the job. Then, on the day he takes over as hokage, I will be able to finally tell the elders what I really think of them."_

_"I just hope Naruto can handle them." Sakura said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Knowing Naruto, he'd force them out of the office and ban them from setting foot inside the hokage tower._

_Both women began to laugh and when the laughter died down, Sakura cleared her throat and said, "Let's go. It's time to get some of this work done before Shizune comes back and decides to start lecturing us about slacking off."_

Sighing, Sakura sat up and pushed back the covers. She got up and walked over to the large window that overlooked the village hidden in the rain. She could see the lights twinkling and knew that unlike her, most of the occupants of the village were asleep. It was funny that the entire base of the Akatsuki had been built into the moutain that overlooked the village hidden in the rain. At first, she had assumed that the Akatsuki lived underground as most vermin did, but instead, she was shocked to find that the leader of Akatsuki preferred to keep watch over his village rather than let the villagers fend for themselves. The people within the village hailed Pein as a god and it was clear that he meant to reinforce that belief.

The funny part of the entire night was that deep down, she already knew that there were secrets that Konoha didn't want revealed. She had learned many secrets while prowling through the hokage's personal library. It was a perk of being the hokage's apprentice and she didn't mind taking full advantage of it. One of the biggest discoveries she had made was that the fourth hokage had a son before he died. In fact, on the night that the boy had been born, the fourth hokage sacrified his life in order to save the village. Shishou made her promise that she would never tell Naruto about his parentage. The day Naruto became hokage would be the day he discovered that his father was the hero of Konoha. She also knew that there were other secrets that were not meant to be revealed. She discovered a very disturning incident that involved Anko, Might Guy, and a lot of pudding. Needless to say, she stopped reading after coming across that incident. But, there were also secrets that could shake the very foundations that a village was built on. Konoha presented a village filled with shinobi who were supposed to do what they were told and to rise above other villages who were lesser than Konoha, but the truth of the matter was, Konoha was right down in the dirt with the rest of them.

Despite her dislike for Pein, the man was straight forward and didn't care to mince words. The elders of Konoha seemed to thrive on saying one thing and then doing something completely different. She could see Itachi's point about Konoha being two-faced. To sacrifice an entire clan in order to keep power is beyond greedy. In her eyes, the level at which the elders stooped to in order to continue their control over Konoha was worse than what the Akatsuki were striving to do.

At least the Akatsuki were honest in their endeavors to be assholes; Konoha hid behind smiling faces and pretend morals.

However, she knew when Naruto took over as hokage, this would all change. Naruto never could stand to watch people suffer or to be put down. He would not stand for the elders and their bid for power and if they threatened his authority, she was sure that Naruto would exile them from Konoha, especially if she told him what she learned. If she knew Naruto, he would not rest until he dug up the truth behind the massacre and those responsible would be tried and punished. Despite their rivalry, Naruto had a strong desire to see Sasuke at peace. And, knowing Sasuke, he would not find peace until the people responsible for his clan's murder were put away or even put into the ground. Naruto would not be like other hokages. His sense of honor would not allow him to simply let such atrocities to pass without proper recourse. She hated to say it, but she almost pitied the elders if they were to go up against the blonde. But, no matter what Naruto did, the truth of the matter is that Sasuke was not the only victim of the elders. Itachi had also been victimized by those greedy, old fools. However, he would not confront them. He simply wanted to see Sasuke grow stronger and then he would allow himself to find peace within his little brother's rage. To her, the situation was nothing more than a vicious cycle and until someone broke that cycle, it would continue.

Sakura was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a soft knock on her door. She watched as the door knob slowly turned and the door opened to reveal Deidara.

"Hey, I was walking by and saw your light on, yeah." He said as he leaned against the door jam. For the first time since meeting him, Deidara had pulled his hair up into a high ponytail and she realized that his eyes were a very pretty shade of blue. When she didn't answer him, he stepped into her room and made his way over to where she stood, leaving the door wide open behind him.

"Are you still having a difficult time adjusting?" He asked, his tone concerned. He figured that if they were going to be partners, then he would have to make sure he looked out for her. Besides, after hearing the shark's warning and the threat of the mangekyo, he wasn't going to let anything upset her. Like it or not, Itachi was stronger than him, at least for the moment.

Sakura turned her eyes back to the village and softly asked, "Do you regret being in the Akatsuki?"

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, I do; however, I regretted being a stone shinobi even more, yeah." He replied, honestly.

"Why?" She asked. He looked down into her green eyes and silently cursed himself for knocking on her door. She was very attractive with her soft pink hair and big eyes, but she held an innocence that a man like him should never mess with. If he wasn't careful, he could get hurt in the end, and not just physically.

"Being a stone shinobi was like being a dog on a short leash, yeah." He explained. "I was to do as told and to do it when I was told. I don't care for being lied to, especially by those whom I am supposed to follow. At least in the Akatsuki, I am able to express myself and have fun doing it, yeah."

She gave him a small smile before turning and walking to her bed. Sitting down, she looked at her hands and quietly asked, "We're all just a bunch of tools, aren't we?"

He didn't answer her, but then again, he had a feeling she really didn't expect him to. Instead, he reached out and gently patted her head. "Get some sleep, yeah." He said as he pulled his hand away. "I hear that you are going to the village with Kisame and Itachi. From what I've seen from you and Kisame, you are going to need to be on your best game, yeah."

Sakura scrunched up her face, but then let out a huge yawn. He moved over to the open door and looked over his shoulder at the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Night, yeah." He called and watched as she gave him a small wave before he shut the door. Turning to walk down the hall, Deidara froze when he saw Itachi leaning against the wall, waiting for him.

"Walk with me, Deidara." Itachi said and turned to move down the hall towards the sparring grounds. Taking in a deep breath, Deidara knew that he was in deep shit, yeah!

* * *

Itachi and Deidara stood face to face while the echoing sound of crickets surrounded them. Neither man spoke, yet Deidara could tell that Itachi was far from pleased. While the man wasn't using words to intimidate him, Itachi's eyes were just as effective. A person would have to be a fool if they stared into the sharingan and didn't feel some sort of apprehension.

The silence loomed between them for several more seconds and finally, Itachi narrowed his eyes and calmly said, "You will never enter her room again."

Deidara, despite some opinions, was not stupid. He knew when a male was protecting his territory, but he wasn't simply going to roll over on his back and let Itachi have his way. "She is to be my partner, yeah. You are simply going to have to suck it up and deal with the fact that I am going to be around her." He snapped.

Cocking his head, Itachi replied, "She may be your partner; however, she is under my protection. Do not make the mistake of crossing me, Deidara. You will not enter her room without myself or Kisame being present."

"What? Are you afraid that perhaps she might find my company much more satisfying?" Diedara sneered. "We both know that I kill you in the personality department, but I think that you are threatened that she might actually turn to me and away from you once she finds how much of a sadistic son of a bitch you can be."

Itachi didn't reply. Instead, his sharingan began to spin even faster and Deidara knew that Itachi was angry. But, to be honest, he really could not have given less of a damn. He was waiting for the infamous mangekyo to envelope him into Itachi's hellish world, but instead, Deidara was stunned to watch as Itachi turned away and began to make his way towards the base.

"Remember my words, Deidara." Itachi warned as he walked away.

Deidara waited until Itachi was out of sight and then let out the breath he had been holding. To see the Uchiha so worked up over a girl was something that he thought he'd never see. But, to him, it was as if Itachi were acting like a jealous lover and making sure that no other man made a move on his girl.

He shook his head and began to walk towards the entrance of the base, but froze when he noticed a large figure standing beside the door.

"I told you not to provoke him." Kisame said shaking his head. The taller man looked down at the blonde and had to wonder if Deidara had any sort of survival instinct because the game he was playing with Itachi was a dangerous one.

"I don't give a damn if he is angry, yeah." Deidara snapped, his face twisted into a scowl as he walked towards the entrance. "Everyone knows that she is to be partnered up with me and he needs to back the hell off."

Kisame regarded the man for a few moments before falling into step beside him. "And you need to remember that Itachi shares a bond of sorts with the hellion." He replied. "While I can understand the attraction to her, she is not one of us. Until she proves that she can be trusted, she will be paired up with Itachi and me, and you will probably be made to join us so that the two of you can start working together. Personally, I doubt that she'll ever allow herself to work with us in missions. Her bond with Konoha won't allow her to betray her village."

Deidara considered Kisame's words for a few moments, but then sighed. "Look, I actually like Sakura. She's feisty, loyal, and is wicked pretty, yeah. Being around the Uchiha is like being around a black hole. He sucks you in and leaves nothing behind, yeah. I don't want to see that happen to her."

Kisame was silent for several minutes, but once they were inside the compound, he quietly murmured, "He isn't like that with her. Around the girl, Itachi is a different person and I'm not the only one who has noticed this. He doesn't cut her down with his words and he doesn't threaten her. In many ways, the hellcat is as big of a threat to Itachi as Itachi is a threat to you. Mind your manners, Deidara. I'm not going to clean up if the two of you end up coming to blows over her."

Leaving Deidara behind, Kisame wandered down the hall and disappeared from sight. He sure hoped that the blonde listened to him. It seemed that ever since bringing that girl to the compound, his partner and the blonde artist were acting totally out of character. He just knew that this wasn't going to end well for any of them.

As he walked, he froze in his steps but then allowed a smirk to cross his lips.

"Well, well….look what the cat dragged in."


	13. Master and Student

A/N: I know that a lot of you are looking at your screens and screaming, "She finally updated!" Just to let all of you know, I am not going to be following certain things from the anime. I love Jiraiya and I can't let him go. So, I'm not. I'm finally finishing up with my bachelor's degree and school has taken me away from writing long enough. So, I'm going to do my best to get my stories done and out for you to enjoy. Please read and review.

* * *

Konan watched as Kisame made his way towards her and she tilted her head to the side. To be honest, while his appearance was frightening to look at, the man beneath the blue skin was someone she knew that she could count on if she were in trouble. When he first began recruiting members into the Akatsuki, Kisame had often been chosen to stay with her as the new members were evaluated and then paired up with a partner.

There was one instance where she had been left alone and had been approached by that cretin, Hidan. The man was as foul as foul could get and had the mouth that made her want to vomit. He had approached her one morning and when she finally had enough of his harassment; she turned on him and taught him the meaning of true pain.

It had been Kisame who came into the room and got between them, thus saving Hidan's life. He spoke calmly to her, told her that he was there and that he would deal with the freak. He was also the one to report to Pein what had happened. It took Hidan several months to recover from Pein's punishment and once he had fully recovered, he never spoke another word to her that was not respectful.

She found out by over-hearing a conversation between Kakuzu and Deidara that Kisame had given his own 'special talk' to Hidan. It was Kisame who first warned Hidan to never approach her again.

Monster in appearance. Gentleman underneath. That was Kisame and she knew that he was on her side.

"So, what has you so quiet?" Kisame asked his eyes staring intently at her. When she shook her head, he lifted an eyebrow and moved closer to her. "It's ok, you know. I won't tell anyone. What has you so upset?"

Konan fought the bile that was rising in her throat and took in a deep breath. "My former sensei is here in the village. Pein is dealing with him and I can't help but worry about them both." She explained, her voice quiet.

Kisame was quiet for a moment, but then asked, "Who is he?"

"Jiraiya." Konan replied and bit her lip. "He became our sensei in the worst of circumstances, but he was an excellent sensei. I can't help but feel that this fight between him and Pein is going to turn out badly for us all."

Kisame nodded. He had once come into contact with the sannin. In fact, it was rumored that despite being a pervert and a clown, the man was a legend in his strategies and was to be handled very carefully. "Do you think that the leader will kill him?" He asked.

"I think that Pein will do whatever it takes to make sure that his domain remains untouched and safe." Konan said. "But, I also think that Pein has a lot of anger towards Master Jiraiya because he left us to return to Konoha and as a result, we lost someone very precious to us. I just don't think that Pein can see beyond that anger, nor do I think that he wants to. He wants our sensei to see that he has surpassed him and is now better than him."

"Ah, it's that kind of reunion is it?" Kisame mused and then gave a lop-sided grin. "The leader would not fight him if he didn't think that it was necessary. The sannin is more than likely here to scope out the territory and information on our little hellion."

Konan nodded. "Perhaps, but Pein isn't going to care that Master Jiraiya is on a reconnaissance mission. What Pein wants is to not only show Master Jiraiya what he abandoned, but also to force our former sensei to pay for our friend's death with his own life." She replied, her eyes saddened. "I suppose that in many ways, Pein is still struggling to let go of the past, but with the sudden appearance of Master Jiraiya, he may decide that the best way to get go is to eliminate the past all together."

Nodding, Kisame silently agreed. While their leader wasn't a man of words, his actions often spoke volumes about his intentions. If the leader had gone to personally confront the sannin, no good would come of the meeting.

He walked Konan to her chambers and bid her a good night. As he walked down the hall, his mouth turned down into a scowl and he could not help but think that this would not be happening if his foolish partner had simply left the little hellion alone.

* * *

Sakura took in a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder. It had been decided that while it would be Kisame and Itachi who escorted her to the tiny shops in order to get her more clothing and personal items, Deidara would accompany the group in order to start to work on building a partnership with her.

Deidara wasn't stupid and had been praised as a genius in his village, but he was also territorial and because Sakura was to be with him, he didn't really care for the way Itachi was barring his path to her. In fact, he was getting quite angry over the way the former Konoha nin kept staring at him with those expressionless eyes. Oh, while he knew that the Uchiha was far from emotional, the very fact that he was warned not to go into Sakura's room told the artist many things.

The first, and most obvious, was that the Uchiha had some interest in the kunoichi and it would not be wise to enter the girl's room without an escort. The second, the girl was clearly oblivious as to the Uchiha's interest and seemed more interested in returning insults to Kisame. Until he could get her to trust him as a partner, he would have to tread very carefully. For now.

* * *

Itachi had given her quite a bit of money and the explicit instructions that she was to purchase what she needed and then meet them outside of the shop. No matter how much of a bad-ass they were, it was apparent that none of them wanted to be seen in a lingerie shop. However, that did not stop two of them from waiting outside and peering into the windows like little perverts. Thankfully, they didn't plaster their faces to the glass and drool all over the place like Naruto would have.

She slowly passed by a table containing panties and stopped. The panties were arranged in an attractive display and sorted by colors. She picked up a pair of black bikini panties and held them up so that she could get a better look at them. However, her attention quickly turned to the front of the store when she heard a bang and a loud yelp. When she didn't see any commotion coming from the outside, she shrugged and quickly picked out a few more pairs of panties, each in a different color.

Choosing a bra was a different matter. As a kunoichi, she had to be careful about what she wore. Anything too loose, her breasts would bounce around and they would hurt at the end of the day. Anything too tight, she would not be able to breathe. She didn't care for push-up bras, unless she was going out dancing and there was no way in hell she wanted to attract any sort of attention to her assets around those clowns in the Akatsuki, so she decided on a few pairs of simple bras. Pretty, but sensible. Next, she decided that she would need sleepwear. When she woke up nude after her encounter with the leader, she had been treated to a leer from Kisame. That wasn't something she wanted to experience again.

So, she began to prowl the nightclothes and froze when she found a nightdress that instantly captured her attention. It was white with a bow that tied right beneath her breasts. While the dress was a bit longer than what she was used to, the nightgown was gorgeous and made of the softest material she had ever felt. Glancing over her shoulder, Sakura realized that none of the three stooges were watching her and so, she added the nightgown to the items in her arms before quickly grabbing a couple of sleeping pants and tank tops.

With her arms loaded, she made her way over to where the cashier stood and gave the young woman a small smile. The young lady was clearly nervous over seeing the cloak she was wearing, but managed to quickly ring up her purchases and accepted the money when she informed Sakura of the total.

With her bags secure in her hands, Sakura moved slowly to the front of the store and noticed that all three males were surrounded by the villagers. She had heard that within the village of rain, Akatsuki were respected because the leader was the protector of the village. However, she also noticed that many of the people surrounding the three males were women.

Sakura wrinkled her nose as the women squealed and heaped compliments on the three men. How anyone could include Kisame in the realm of handsome was way beyond her, but she supposed that some women simply didn't care about appearances. Or personality. Or intelligence. So, she supposed that these women must be banking on the hopes that Kisame was packing in the pants because everything else sucked.

Sakura realized pretty quickly that because of the attention that was being placed upon them, the male Akatsuki's attention was not upon her. Instead, Deidara seemed to be soaking up the attention. Kisame appeared just as confused as she was regarding the attention that was being placed upon him. And, Itachi….well, he was staring off into the distance while managing to keep up the foreboding aura that normally surrounded him and was doing a pretty good job of keeping the adoring females from touching him.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly inched away from the group and began walking down the street, her inner persona feverishly praying that they didn't get caught and when she felt that she was a comfortable distance away, Sakura began to run.

Despite her bags being clenched in her hands, her only thought was to get the hell out of the village and back to Konoha as fast as she could. She narrowed her eyes as she realized that she wasn't being followed and allowed herself to gain speed before leaping from the street and onto the nearest rooftop. Buildings flew by as she ran and when she saw the entrance to the village, a loud bang caused her to freeze in her steps and look over to the area where smoke suddenly appeared.

Taking in a deep breath and glancing longingly at the entrance, Sakura mentally bid farewell to freedom as she turned her direction and began running towards the smoke. When she finally reached the source, her mouth fell open and she screamed, "Jiraya-sama!"

* * *

Deidara was in heaven. Women were falling all over themselves to talk to him and he was pretty sure that if he tried hard enough, he might be able to convince a couple of them to join him for an evening of explosive pleasure.

He glanced over at Kisame and smirked. The man knew that he was not pleasing to the eyes, but with the way some of the women were acting were as if the man was an Adonis who had appeared for their very pleasure. Apparently, Kisame didn't know what to do with the lot of them.

Deidara's eyes moved over to the stoic Uchiha and he frowned. The women's adoring gaze was lost upon the Uchiha and Deidara knew that their attention was wasted. The only woman who held the Uchiha's interest was currently perusing dainty, little panties while blissfully unaware of the Uchiha's attraction. The fact that the Uchiha slapped him in the back of the head when he stared a bit too long at the pair of panties that Sakura held up meant that the Uchiha knew that Deidara was imaging what Sakura would look like wearing them….and nothing else.

However, when a loud noise startled him out of his musings, Deidara quickly looked in the direction where the noise had come from and watched as both Itachi and Kisame tensed. The Uchiha's sharingan eyes were intent and his mouth pulled down into a frown.

"We must go." He said, his tone brooking no room for argument. Kisame nodded in agreement and sighed. "I'll go and get the hellcat and we'll be on our way." He muttered and made his way through the women and into the little shop.

A moment later, he appeared and his face was twisted into a scowl. "She's gone." Kisame gritted out through clenched teeth. "She walked right out and away and we stood here with our thumbs up our asses."

Deidara cringed, but then said, "She's got all of her chakra back, so it's probably her that made that noise that we heard earlier."

Itachi gave a sharp nod. "We will go and investigate." He said and motioned for the other two men to follow him. "If we do not find her, the leader will not be happy."

Kisame and Deidara shared a knowing look before following the Uchiha. Kisame stayed beside Deidara because he recognized the aura that Itachi was currently emitting. Itachi was enraged at the fact that the little female managed to slip past them, but he was also angry that she dared to run from them. It was as though she had delivered a slap to Itachi's face and now, she was probably running for her life. If she got back to her village, there was a good chance that she could lead a team back to them and the outcome would not be good.

As they neared the area where the loud bang came from, all three men readied themselves for a fight. However, when they finally arrived, they were unprepared for the sight that awaited them.

* * *

"Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura screamed, effectively drawing the attention of the two battling men. Jumping down to the battle area, Sakura kept a cautious eye on Pein as she neared the injured sannin's side. The older man was badly injured and she knew that if she didn't act, he would not survive this fight.

"Sakura," Jiraiya murmured, his eyes drooping as exhaustion began to overtake him. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she threw the bags in her hands to the ground behind her before moving in front of her brother's sensei. "I'm not without my chakra this time." She sneered, her anger growing. "Let's see just how well you do against me now."

Pein was silent for several minutes and watched as Sakura created a shadow clone. The clone bent down and began to heal the injured sannin and Pein could not help but release a sigh. "You are interfering in a matter which does not concern you. Stand aside, kunoichi." He ordered.

Sakura's eyes narrowed in a blatant challenge. "Move me." She said and quickly got into a fighting stance. The clone looked up from healing Jiraiya and asked, "Now?"

Sakura nodded and softly said, "Jiraiya-sama, tell shishou not to come after me. I am safe and they won't hurt me, at least not yet."

Jiraiya struggled to stand up and sternly said, "I'm not leaving you here. We'll go back to Konoha together."

"You don't get it." Sakura said as the clone wrapped its arms around Jiraiya. "No matter what I do, they will come after me again. You will return to Konoha and you will not return here. Tell Naruto not to attempt to rescue me. I'll figure this out for myself."

Jiraiya was about to retort to her statement, but when Pein flew at them, Sakura's clone performed the seals for transportation and with a loud pop, they were gone. Sakura waited until the red-haired man drew closer and then presented him with a feral smile.

Payback was in order.

* * *

The battle had been brutal and bloody. Finally, both combatants were separated and Pein glared at the injured kunoichi. "I should kill you for interfering. You had no right." He hissed, his anger growing as the impudent kunoichi dared to shrug her shoulder at him.

"You had no right to assault me in the manner you did." Sakura smartly returned and then sneered, "I'd say that now we are even."

Pein clenched his fist, but then turned his back on Sakura. Walking away, he snapped, "Return to base. We will deal with this matter there. Kunoichi, pray that I calm down in the time it takes me to return to base or there will be hell to pay when we meet again."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but a large, blue hand clamped over her mouth and prevented her from telling the leader what he could do with his temper and his ego. Once the leader disappeared, the blue hand slowly removed itself from her mouth and Sakura yanked away from the hands that held her. Stomping away from the three men, she snapped, "I was doing fine by myself. I didn't need your help."

Itachi calmly walked over to her and when he stood before her, Sakura lifted her eyes to meet his and never saw the hand that smacked her hard across her face. The only thing she could do lift a trembling hand to her injured cheek and stare disbelievingly up at him from her place on the ground. For a moment, no one said a word, but then Deidara snapped, "Shit, Uchiha. Did you really have to hit her?"

Moving to her side, the blond shinobi helped the stunned kunoichi to her feet and then took the hand she held over her injured cheek and moved it away. His eyes narrowed at the fiery red handprint and then glared over his shoulder at the Uchiha.

"You're a psycho." He snarled and moved to stand in front of Sakura. "You only hit her because she made you, and admittedly us, look like fools because she was able to slip away. You hit her because your fucking pride was injured so you decide to injure her physically. Stay the hell away from my partner, Uchiha."

Turning back to Sakura, he softly said, "Let's get your bags and return to base. I'm sure that I can find you clothing to wear until the next time we have the opportunity to get you more clothing, ok."

Nodding, Sakura allowed Deidara to turn to towards where her bags lay and she picked them up. For some reason, it wasn't the sting of his slap that hurt. It was the fact that he actually lifted a hand to her, even though the Itachi in her dreams had told her that he would never be able to lift an unkind hand to her.

Confused, Sakura followed Deidara as he began leading her out of the destruction that had been evidence of a fight between a god and a sannin. Deidara's eyes narrowed as the pair silently passed Kisame and his stoic partner, but the artist didn't bother gracing either man with any further words. Instead, he was more focused on getting Sakura back to the base and then going to the leader to smooth over any problems that may be waiting for her.

When the pair were gone, Kisame turned his eyes towards his partner and calmly asked, "Feel better?" Knowing that Deidara had actually hit the nail on the head didn't make Kisame feel any better about the situation. Hell, he wasn't blind. He knew of the attraction that his partner held for the female and for him to actually lose his temper and strike her told him that Itachi had finally had to come to acceptance.

However, there was one point Deidara was wrong on. It wasn't because of pride that Itachi slapped Sakura. It was out of fear that she would be harmed even worse than the last time she and leader had fought. It was out of fear that prompted Itachi to act before thinking his actions out. And, it was out of anger over her lack of regard for her own safety that caused Itachi to strike out.

He may not have much experience with romance and all that bullshit, but Kisame was an expert at instinct and the instinct to protect someone was a powerful motivator for people and he was certain that once he calmed down, Itachi would come to regret his reaction.

The Uchiha began walking towards the base, but stopped in his tracks. Kisame watched as Itachi moved over to a large pile of rubble and reach down. Pulling back, Kisame's eyebrows lifted as Itachi lifted a shopping bag and then shook his head when the younger man motioned for him to get moving. He could bet that when they returned to the base, there was going to be one hell of a headache waiting for them.

* * *

Tsunade sighed and turned from the window. It had been a few days since Jiraiya had left for rain and yet, there had been no word from him. She hated to admit it, but she was getting worried for the old fool.

But, she could not help but feel as though something had happened to him and that she had failed him just as she had failed Dan. Yet, somehow the thought of failing him hurt her more than anything she had ever known. Somewhere along the line, Jiraiya had become the man she had looked towards for comfort and strength. Sure, he was a pervert, but she was a gambling drunk, so she figured that they evened each other out.

She was about to sit back down at her desk, but her door slammed open and Shizune rushed into the office, her eyes wild.

"Get to the hospital!" She ordered, her tone harsh. "Jiraiya-sama was found by Kakashi at the gate and he's badly wounded."

Shizune blinked and found the office empty. Instead of using the door, her lady had jumped out of the window and was moving fast to where her last teammate lay. Taking in a deep breath and falling to the floor in a heap, Shizune allowed tears to well up in her eyes and then slip down her cheeks.

She could only thank whichever kami was responsible that her lady didn't have to bury another loved one.

* * *

Tsunade slammed through the hospital doors and ran towards the emergency room. She saw a large crowd gathered in one of the exam rooms and quickly elbowed her way into the center of the crowd. Jiraiya gave her a thumbs up and then closed his eyes in order to rest. Before her people, the slug queen moved to his side and gently pressed a kiss to his forehead.

Kakashi motioned for everyone to leave them alone and once the crowd was gone, he turned to the hokage and murmured, "He told me that he had been fighting a former student who apparently is now the leader of Akatsuki."

"I knew we should have followed Orochimaru's advice and killed those kids." Tsunade snapped and allowed her hand to smooth back the older male's hair. "There was something about those kids, especially the dark-haired boy, that gave me chills. But, Jiraiya just had to help them and now look."

Kakashi nodded and took a deep breath. "You should know that it was Sakura who intervened before the killing blow could take place. She got him out of there and with her clone, managed to transport him close enough so that he could walk the rest of the way here. Apparently, she healed him enough so that he could finish the rest of the journey here. I must say, her abilities with chakra are unmatched." He said with pride.

Tsunade's eyes widened and she sucked in a deep breath. "She saved his life." She said and the tears she had been holding back began to travel down her face and a soft sob escaped her chest. The young girl she had once wondered about had saved Jiraiya's life. Finally, a bet she had made had paid off in her favor. She could not help the pride she felt for her student or the gratitude that her student had sacrified herself to get Jiraiya to safety. She jumped slightly when a warm hand touched her back and turning her eyes to where Jiraiya lay, she saw his eyes were open and he softly whispered, "How about you lay with me for a while, 'nade?"

Kakashi slipped from the room quietly, but caught the sight of his hokage laying down beside the tall man as soft sobs sounded throughout the room. Smiling to himself, he silently hoped Sakura knew just how much the village was now indebted to her and her compassion. She had returned one of their sannin and for that, Sakura will be honored.

He told the nursing staff that unless called, it would be wise to leave Jiraiya and the hokage alone. When the nurse nodded, he began to walk towards the entrance, but stopped when Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai came through the doors.

"They said that the pervert was brought in and he was hurt." Naruto said, his blue eyes wide with worry.

"He is in good hands, Naruto." Kakashi murmured and motioned for the younger men to follow him. When Naruto appeared to want to hang back and go see his sensei, Kakashi calmly said, "Lady Tsunade is with him and they need to be alone for a while."

Naruto gave one final glance in the direction of the emergency room, but then gave up and followed Kakashi and the other two males from the hospital. Sasuke glanced over at Kakashi and asked, "How was he injured?"

Kakashi knew that he could not keep this from the males and stopped in his tracks. "He was fighting the leader of the Akatsuki and was nearly killed." He explained. When the three males stared at him, he continued, "It was because Sakura came to his aid that he was able to escape. She allowed a clone to get him the hell out of there before taking on the leader, herself. According to what I could get from Jiraiya, had Sakura not come along when she did, his life would have been over. He also mentioned that she said that she could not leave and for us to not come after her. Apparently, they need her for something and she is sure that they will not harm her, at least not yet."

Naruto took in a deep breath and allowed his shoulders to sag. "I can't leave her there, Kakashi." He said, softly. "She belongs here. My sister isn't going to be used as a bargaining chip to get me. She doesn't deserve this and the fact that she put herself in harm's way for ero-sennin, I would feel as though I betrayed her by letting her remain there."

"I know." Kakashi replied as the other two men silently agreed with their blond friend. "But, for now, we are going to honor Sakura's wishes until Lady Tsunade tells us otherwise. She will be fine, Naruto."

"I hope you're right." Naruto murmured and shoved his hands in his pockets. "If they hurt her, I'll kill every single one of them and I'll make the damage that Gaara and shukaku did seem like a sweet dream."

* * *

"Well, at least she is loyal." Madara purred as he watched Pein pace back and forth in his office. "However, her loyalty needs to be with us. Still, she handled the fight with you beautifully and I have to wonder just how far she can be pushed until she decides to really let loose."

Pein snorted and shook his head. "She should be punished. She had no right to interfere." He snapped and didn't care if he sounded disrespectful.

Madara shrugged. "Perhaps, but this could also serve as a lesson not only to you, but to her, as well. She needs to be corrected in whom she protects, but you need to learn restraint. Killing the sannin would have caused us more problems than we need. At this point, we need to focus on obtaining other containers so that we can move forward with our plans. While she will not cooperate with us in the extraction process, perhaps we can offer her something that would interest her. I wonder how she would feel about being allowed to save the lives of the containers once the demon is removed. It would prove to be an interesting challenge." He mused and then glanced over at the young man before him.

Standing up, he moved towards Pein and stopped before him. Reaching out, the elder man grasped Pein's chin and lifted it so that he could look him in the eye. "Inform Sakura that while you understand her motives, you will not tolerate any further interference in your private matters. I want you to offer her the opportunity to continue her healing not only within the Akatsuki, but within the village. If we can sway her with the idea of helping the village and those who need her, we may be able to obtain some of that fierce loyalty."

Pein closed his eyes, but gave a sharp nod. "When are we going to stop pretending?" He asked, tiredly. "You have more interests in the girl other than the kyuubi. You want something else from her."

Madara chuckled. "You're perceptive." He said in a sing-song voice, but despite the lightness of the statement, Pein could hear the dangerous undertones. "However, I will remind you that Sakura is my business and you are merely her babysitter. Mind me, Pein. I grow tired of your resistance to my will."

Closing his eyes, Pein silently reminded him that everything would change soon and all he needed was to be patient. Nodding, he watched as Madara released his chin and moved towards the door. With a cheerful wave, Madara was gone and Pein sat down heavily in his chair.

Patience. All he needed was patience.


End file.
